Delhi Govt To Open Special Women Mohalla Clinics; Manish Sisodia Says India’s 75th Independence Day Anniversary Fitting Time for It

New Delhi, March 9: The Delhi government on Tuesday announced that special women mohalla clinics will be opened across the city in the next financial year to offer free gynaecological and other medical care services to them within walking distance from their homes.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, made the announcement while presenting the government's annual budget for year 2021-22, in which Rs 9,934 crore has been allocated to the healthcare sector.

"Our government has opened Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics to make healthcare and medicines for minor ailments accessible to people, for which otherwise they had to travel long distance or shell out large sums of money at a private clinic," he said. Delhi Budget 2021: Manish Sisodia Announces Free COVID-19 Vaccine for All, Allocates Rs 50 Crore for Vaccination.

In his budget speech, Sisodia said the government has proposed to start special mohalla clinic for women -- 'Mahila Mohalla Clinic' -- from next financial year and termed it a "revolutionary announcement".

"In the first phase, 100 'Mahila Mohalla Clinics' are proposed to be established in different parts of Delhi, which will be progressively increased to at least one clinic in each ward. I understand that this is taken in the direction of keeping half of its population respectfully healthy, which will be the most important step so far in the history of 75 years of independent India. For a step such as this, what better time can there be, than the 75th anniversary of our independence," he said.

The deputy chief minister said the step has been taken to make gynaecological and other medical care services free and accessible to women.

Many women can afford services of a specialist, but in the middle class and lower income families, they many times fail to reach to a gynaecologist. It is a fact about our society that many women tend to neglect their own illnesses. The result is that many women live with ailment, assuming it their destiny, he said. Delhi Budget 2021: Govt Presents Rs 69,000 Crore Budget, Rs 10 Crore Allocated for Programmes on Bhagat Singh's Life During 75-Week 'Deshbhakti' Events.

"We also know that our mothers and sisters are not able to talk about their health issues openly (with the opposite gender). The Delhi government will now undertake the responsibility of having a 'Mahila Mohalla Clinic' within reach of every woman in Delhi so that services of a gynaecologist and related diagnostic tests, etc. are made available for free," Sisodia said.

"Better health services and better treatment is the right of every citizen and in the 75th year of independence, we need to improve our health services so that every citizen can be confident about getting healthcare for their family," he added.