New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will set up Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AyAMs) in its community halls across the capital to strengthen primary healthcare accessibility for local residents, officials said on Wednesday.
Under the initiative led by the MCD’s health department, 78 under-utilised civic halls with low annual booking rates will host primary health centres under the centrally sponsored scheme, officials said.
The healthcare facilities will function primarily from the ground floor or ground-plus-first-floor portions of designated Community Services Department (CSD) halls, leaving the remaining areas available for routine public bookings and community activities.
The civic body formally passed a proposal to this effect on Tuesday. The MCD granted consolidated ex-post facto approval for no objection certificates (NOCs) already issued for 72 community halls, along with approval for six additional locations.
The approved proposal also gives in-principle authorisation to the MCD commissioner to grant NOCs for future proposals, streamlining the setup and operationalisation of Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in suitable municipal properties going forward, officials said.
Feasibility assessments conducted by the health department identified suitable sites in several areas, including Timarpur, Hakikat Nagar, Rohini and Meenakshi Garden.
According to officials, the MCD’s health department requested for 12 additional properties beyond the initial 71, and later 72 pre-approved, halls.
They added that eight built properties were identified to evaluate their feasibility, from which six suitable sites (such as those in Timarpur, Hakikat Nagar, Rohini and Meenakshi Garden) were selected to form the six fresh approvals, bringing the grand total to 78 community halls.
Four open-space sites were rejected due to lack of jurisdiction, absence of open space, or ongoing reconstruction, officials said.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in July inaugurated 45 new Ayushman Jan Arogya Mandirs in the capital, vowing to take the number of such health centres from 415 to 1,100 in the coming months.
Ayushman Arogya Mandir, formerly known as Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC), is India’s flagship primary healthcare initiative launched to deliver comprehensive, free, and universal healthcare closer to local communities. PTI VBH ARB
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