Mohalla clinics without toilets, hospitals without ICUs: Key highlights of CAG report on Delhi healthcare

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on ‘Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services’ in the Delhi Assembly. The report reveals ‘underutilisation of funds,’ ‘delays in project execution,’ and ‘shortage of staff and drugs’ under the previous Aam Aadmi Party government.

According to the 208-page CAG report, the AAP-led government in Delhi ‘grossly’ mismanaged the COVID pandemic in the national capital using only ₹582.84 crore of the total ₹787.91 crore released by the central government.

The CAG report on healthcare is the second CAG report tabled by BJP government in Delhi assembly. Earlier this week the government tabled, a CAG report, divided into eight chapters, that highlighted the lapses in implementing the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy which eventually led to a loss of approximately ₹2,002 crore to the Delhi government.

“Dire status” of Mohalla clinics

The CAG performance audit report 5 of the year 2024 for the period 2016-17 to 2021-22 reviewed the “dire status” of Mohalla clinics under the previous government’s Mohalla Clinic scheme. Mohalla clinics was the flagship scheme of AAP government.

The report stated that 21 Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics did not have toilets, 15 did not have a power backup, six did not have any tables for check-ups, and 12 did not have accessibility for the physically disabled. Similar was the situation of the AYUSH dispensaries, with 17 of the 49 inspected dispensaries having no power backup, 7 having no toilet, and 14 having no facility for drinking water

The CAG report said that funds released for expenditure for Human Resources remained heavily unutilised, demonstrating underpayment of health staff, and lower deployment of health workers. ₹52 crore was allotted for the same but only ₹30.52 crore was utilised, it said.

Also, ₹83.14 crore of the released ₹119.85 crore for drugs and supplies, including PPE and masks, remained unutilised.

The CAG report also revealed that despite the heavy demand for hospital beds, only 1357 beds, rather than the promised 32,000 beds, were added in the budget years from 2016-17 to 2020-2021.

The report noted that only three new hospitals were completed under the AAP government, and the final cost was much higher than the tendered cost.

No ICU services in 14 hospitals

The CAG report mentioned a shortage of manpower in hospitals, waiting times of up to six to eight hours for surgeries, and non-functional equipment.

According to the report, in the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH), six modular/semi-modular OT, Stone Centre, Transplant ICU and Wards, Kitchen, 77 private/ special rooms, 16 ICU beds, 154 general beds and Resident Doctors Hostel were not functional.

The report states that out of 27 Hospitals, ICU services were not available in 14, Blood Bank services were not available in 16, Oxygen services were not available in 8, Mortuary services were not available in 15, and Ambulance services were not available in 12 Hospitals.

The fund under Reproductive, Maternal, New-born Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH) schemes remained underutilised. Underutilization of funds ranged from 58.90 per cent (2016-17) to 93.03 per cent (2019-20), indicating that the GNCTD was not implementing the programme adequately, the CAG report noted.