BJP-led civic bodies still not ready to hand over hospitals to govt: AAP

The Delhi BJP denied the allegations and accused the AAP-led Delhi government of perpetrating the crisis by not releasing funds due to the three municipal corporations.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Friday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led municipal corporations in Delhi (MCDs) for not handing over the charge of hospitals to the Delhi government, despite civic bodies being unable to pay salaries to health care workers.

Doctors and health care workers of the north corporation’s Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals have been protesting against non-payment of salaries for the past several months. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT file photo)

“The hospitals operated by the MCDs lack the necessary patient care and infrastructure. They have not been able to pay salaries to doctors and health care workers, especially at a time when health care workers are risking their lives treating Covid-19 patients. That is not justified. They are also not handing over the charge of these hospitals to the Delhi government,” said Durgesh Pathak, the AAP’s in charge of MCD affairs.

Citing a letter, purportedly written by the North Delhi civic body in July 2018, Pathak said, “The north corporation had told the central government that it was not being able to run hospitals under it. What is stopping the civic body from handing over these hospitals to the Delhi government?”

The Delhi BJP denied the allegations and accused the AAP-led Delhi government of perpetrating the crisis by not releasing funds due to the three municipal corporations.

Doctors and health care workers of the north corporation’s Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals have been protesting against non-payment of salaries for the past several months. Earlier this week, the Delhi government had denotified Hindu Rao as a Covid-19 facility and had shifted all Covid-19 patients admitted there to Delhi government hospitals.

Jain, who is also the urban development minister, had written to the MCDs urging them to hand over the hospitals to the Delhi government if they were unable to operate them.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The AAP leaders have a habit of levelling allegations without going through facts. The MCDs are capable of handling their hospitals if the Delhi government releases proper constitutional funds. Many of the municipal hospitals provide better service than Delhi government hospitals.”

Later in the day, Pathak, along with several municipal councillors of the AAP, joined a group of doctors at Jantar Mantar where they staged a protest against the MCDs over non-payment of salaries.