Newly constructed mohalla clinic demolished, says Delhi government

NEW DELHI: Delhi government alleged on Thursday that North Delhi Municipal Corporation had demolished “a newly constructed mohalla clinic” on Hardhyan Singh Road in Karol Bagh and threatened to bring down another on Pyare Lal Road. Refuting the allegations, the corporation claimed that wrong statements were being issued to politicise the issue.

“People should remember this (demolition) when they go out to vote in Delhi. Delhi government constructed a mohalla clinic and the BJP-led corporation demolished it today,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

North corporation mayor Adesh Gupta, however, claimed, “No demolition has taken place. Our officials have just stopped them from carrying out any further work. This was an unauthorised structure.” He added that the structure was creating problem for pedestrians as it was being constructed on the footpath. Corporation commissioner Varsha Joshi also said no no-objection certificate was taken from the corporation to build these structures.

Nagender Sharma, media adviser to the CM, called the action “shamefully criminal and blatantly illegal”. “A primary health public facility has been destroyed” without giving any notice, Sharma tweeted. He also alleged that the corporation had no jurisdiction over the structure. The public works department has filed a police complaint against the demolition.

Sharma claimed that the corporation was now “threatening to demolish an almost complete clinic on Pyare Lal Road. Have you ever heard that a civic body without any basis is threatening to destroy a primary health centre?”

Gupta argued that the civic body had acted within its jurisdiction. “Encroachment and unauthorised constructions are in our jurisdiction. Just because it is located on a PWD road does not mean that we cannot act.” As the corporation was not informed, it didn’t know why the structure was coming up, Gupta pointed out.

Citing an October 2017 letter from the PWD special secretary to the health secretary over setting up clinics on road/right of way (ROW), a Delhi BJP spokesperson claimed it had supported the corporation’s stand. The letter, he said, stated that “as per sections 298 and 3 of DMC Act 1957, streets are vested with corporation... The law department has opined that the ownership of roads having ROW above 60ft also lies with the corporation. It is requested MCDs/ Delhi Traffic Police may be approached on matter of setting up clinics on right of way”.

Mohalla clinics, the AAP government’s flagship project, has been a contentious issue between it and the three BJP-led corporations. In 2017, Delhi government had asked for land at 121 sites. The north corporation, which had 61 of these sites, had said it could spare none. Before the 2017 civic elections, it had passed a resolution to initiate action against “illegal” clinics on “pavements, footpaths and roads ownership of which still lies with the civic body”.

A mohalla clinic is a primary health centre offering basic healthcare services free of cost. According to the government’s latest outcome budget, 189 units have been made operational till December 2018 and around 100 patients visit a clinic daily. AAP had promised to open 1,000 such clinics.