Jahan pehle Rs 300-Rs 400 lagta tha private doctor se ilaaj karwane ke liye, wohi aaj mohalla clinic mein free hai. Toh kyun na jaye wahan? (The same treatment at a private doctor’s for which I had to shell out Rs 300-Rs 400 previously, could now be availed for free at the mohalla clinics. So, why shouldn’t we go there?),” said Kishore, a resident of Gopal Nagar Extension in Najafgarh.
The idea behind mohalla clinics, which was to take primary healthcare down to the last neighbourhood of the city, caught on with residents in no time. A brainchild of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the two-room porta cabins were tipped to change how residents access and avail rudimentary healthcare. The government had set sights on opening 1,000 such clinics, which doesn’t have a parallel elsewhere in the country. However, only a fraction of such primary healthcare units, the first of which was opened in
2015, is currently functional in the city.
While the government fell far shy of the promised 1,000 clinics, it did manage to take the tally to 450 by the time the election date for the Delhi Assembly was announced. In a clear indication of the extent to which these clinics, providing medicines, tests and check-ups for free, have found favour with the people, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has hedged its poll bets on them.
A vote-catcher?
In every single public speech during his campaign whirl, the CM has brought up mohalla clinics as one of the key takeaways of his government. The clinics have also come in for global acclaim and the ruling party is keen to mint every ounce of goodwill they have garnered into votes.
“The clinic has all the necessary facilities and the doctor is also very friendly. The majority of those visiting the clinic are residents of JJ (Jhuggi-Jhopri) clusters where diseases such diarrhoea and viral fever are common. We’re glad that we no longer have to stand in long queues at government hospitals,” Muslima Khatoon, who resides in a slum at Shakur Basti, told this correspondent.
As for not being able to deliver on the promised 1,000 clinics, the government has laid the blame squarely on the Delhi Development Authority, the land owning agency under the Centre, as well as the municipalities, the reins of which are currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It has accused them of dragging their feet on making plots available, thereby holding up the opening of clinics.
Failing publicity test
While the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK), another of the government’s big-ticket healthcare scheme, was already in force, the Kejriwal government made it bigger and better by adding to the number of surgeries and medical procedures that could be availed free of charge under it.
However, the scheme, under which patients awaiting surgeries and tests at government hospital for a month or more could avail them for free at empanelled private hospitals, seems to have failed the publicity test. Most of the residents this correspondent spoke to said they weren’t aware of the scheme.
While government hospitals have put up hoardings and posters, announcing the scheme, they are largely ignored in the din and rush of patients.
Among the other schemes and healthcare initiatives that the ruling party is peddling to curry favour with voters are ‘Farishtey’ and bike ambulances. While ‘Farishtey’ promises full medical coverage to accident victims, as well as cash rewards and citations to those rushing them to hospitals, bike ambulances are aimed at reaching the needy in congested lanes where four-wheelers can’t. Both the initiatives have drawn fulsome praise from locals.
Not enough govt hospitals
However, the government has had to fend off uncomfortable questions on the number of government hospitals in the city. Most public hospitals, especially AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lok Nayak, GB Pant and GTB, record a huge rush of patients, and, the government couldn’t make good on its promises to build new ones. While the failure to add to the city’s 38 public hospitals has put the government on a sticky wicket, several residents said the prevailing ones are in a pitiable state and sorely lack in testing equipment.
With little or no progress on new projects, the government augmented the number of beds in existing hospitals to meet the rising demand of patients. The AAP, if elected, plans to add more blocks to public hospitals, taking the total bed-strength from 11,353 to 25,252.An official said since implementation of new projects require a lot of paperwork, the government focused on the increasing the bed-count of existing public hospitals.
Education matters
‘Naam pe nahi, kaam pe vote (Vote on work, not name)’, has been the AAP’s slogan going into the battle for the Assembly. And, another front where the government hopes its work will fetch electoral dividend, is education.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also doubles up as the minister for education, is credited to have to put wheels on policies aimed at steering school education to the progressive lane. Atishi, an erudite Oxfordian who earlier served as an advisor to Sisodia, was the brain behind the ‘forward-looking’ education policies that the AAP believes will help it ace the poll test.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah pricked Kejriwal during campaign run-ins, accusing him of not delivering on promises with respect to the education sector, the latter hit back, inviting the former to visit government schools to see the change.
The residents this correspondent spoke to were largely of the opinion that their wards, studying in government schools, have benefitted from the strides in education.“My children take more interest in their studies these days and also like going to school. There’s been a lot of improvement in (public) education over the last five years,” said Nisha Devi, a homemaker from Jangpura.
The government also introduced skill-enhancement schemes such as ‘Chunauti’ and ‘Buniyaad’, aimed at improving the learning process and separating students on the basis of their reading and writing capabilities. However, the move drew glares from educationists, who said segregation would affect children psychologically.
The government also introduced the ‘Vishwas’ scheme, which is aimed at helping CBSE Board aspirants, who have failed their Class 10 exam twice and are bidding for another go through ‘Patrachar’, correspondence. The introduction of ‘Happiness Classes’ and ‘Entrepreneurship Curriculum’ has also been widely appreciated.
However, the parents did voice misgivings over the irregular attendance of government school teachers. They claimed teachers often don’t show up for classes and don’t pay enough attention to students. They urged haste in filling up vacant teaching posts and making guest teachers permanent.Although the AAP’s education pitch failed to wash with voters in the Lok Sabha elections, it has set sights on better returns in the Assembly elections.
Experts’ call
Dilip Simeon, a lecturer at Ramjas College, which is affiliated to Delhi University, said the AAP holds the upper hand in the elections as health and education matter for voters.“BJP is the largest national party but its agenda is communal. The AAP, on the other hand, has been highlighting its work. Their policies have, indeed, impacted a certain section of our people,” he said.Chandrakant Lahariya, a public health specialist, said, “Mohalla clinics are being replicated in many states. They have redefined public health service.”
The Aam Aadmi Party has set its hopes on its accomplishments in the twin sectors and schemes that have found favour with voters. However, only time will tell if their initiatives on these fronts will translate into electoral dividend, writes Somrita Ghosh