Arvind Kejriwal's mohalla clinic scheme inspires other states

While the AAP's thumping victory in Delhi polls is being projected as validation of its development model, several state governments have already taken a cue from the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation's flagship Mohalla clinic scheme and are replicating it.

"People have proven that Kejriwal model of governance is better... and in our model a common man is at the centre," Kejriwal had said after his post 2015 poll victory.

Now after his party's stupendous victory in this year's assembly polls, it is said that the opening of nearly 500 Mohalla clinics since 2015, where doctor consultation, medicines and lab tests can be availed free of cost, played a vital role in tilting the balance in favour of the IRS officer-turned-politician.

Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka and UT of Jammu and Kashmir have already announced that they would be replicating the initiative.

The Delhi government spends as high as Rs 400 crore per year for maintaining Mohalla clinics and it has plans to expand it to 1,000 clinics with a target of covering 10,000 to 15,000 population in every area.

The clinics drew international attention too, with former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and ex-Norway prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland commending the AAP's scheme.

Another former UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon in fact visited one of the clinics in Delhi to have a first-hand knowledge about its functioning.

According to media reports, the T H Chan School of Public Health of Harvard University wanted to study the model of these Mohalla clinics and prepare a case report on how primary health care can be delivered in urban neighbourhoods through the public system.