The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government to give 2 weeks’ advance notice to staff working at Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics (AAMC) if their services are to be terminated before March 31, 2026.
The order comes amid political tensions between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the future of these neighbourhood clinics.
Clinics Being Phased Out
The dispute follows the BJP-led Delhi government’s plan to phase out mohalla clinics in areas where Ayushman Arogya Mandirs — primary healthcare centres under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme — are being set up. Several clinics are already being converted into Arogya Mandirs.
As of August 2023, Delhi had 533 mohalla clinics in operation, but at least seven have been converted so far.
Petition By Contractual Staff
The order was passed on August 6 by Justice Prateek Jalan while hearing a petition from pharmacists, mohalla clinic assistants, and multitask workers engaged on a contractual basis under the AAMC scheme. They sought protection from termination and replacement by other contractual employees.
“In the event the respondents (Delhi government) propose to terminate the petitioners’ engagement before March 31, 2026, on the ground that new manpower has been engaged…, they are directed to give two weeks’ notice to the concerned… (staff),” the court said.
Linked Case Involving Doctors
This is similar to an earlier order issued on Tuesday in a case filed by doctors working in AAMCs. Those doctors, also appointed on a contractual basis since 2016 and re-engaged over the years, had approached the court seeking to prevent what they called illegal termination.
In the present matter, Advocate Amar Nath Saini, appearing for the staff, argued that unlike the doctors’ case, some petitioners here were told over the phone not to report for duty, creating uncertainty over their employment.
The Delhi government’s counsel responded that no decision had been made to end the services of any AAMC employees at this stage.
Political and Administrative Context
The mohalla clinic model was a flagship project of the AAP government to provide accessible primary healthcare at the neighbourhood level. However, the new administration has prioritised Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, stating they offer similar services.
Following a protest by AAMC staff on May 17, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta assured that existing paramedical and support staff would be accommodated within the new healthcare centres
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