Delayed Cure: Only 1 of 25 ‘Aapla Dawakhana’ Clinics Functional In Pune Amid PMC-State Deadlock

The much-publicized ‘Aapla Dawakhana’ initiative, aimed at providing quality healthcare to underserved communities, remains largely on paper in Pune. Despite identifying 25 municipal locations for setting up these clinics, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has managed to operationalize only one in Wagholi. Meanwhile, the state government has launched clinics in just 10 out of 33 sanctioned locations.

The scheme, introduced under the National Urban Health Mission, was meant to bring primary healthcare services, including basic treatment, eye check-ups, blood tests, and mental health counselling, to slum and remote areas. The goal was to prevent citizens from travelling long distances to municipal hospitals for minor ailments.

However, the implementation has been bogged down due to an ongoing tug-of-war between the PMC and the state government over land use and funding mechanisms. Initially, the state government had instructed the PMC to lease spaces and offered ₹1 lakh per location. But former municipal officials instead proposed to utilize PMC-owned land and requested that state-provided funds be used for equipment, furniture, and repairs.

This proposal was turned down by the state, stalling further progress. As of now, only the clinic at Wagholi is functional under the PMC, while the state has set up clinics at 10 other locations, including Dhanori, Khandvenagar, Kalwad Road, Tingrenagar, Swargate Chowk, Gujar-Nimbalkarwadi (Katraj Lake), Tadiwala Road, Keshavnagar, Uttamnagar, and Wagholi-Lohgaon Road.

Meeting on the issue soon

“The municipal corporation had sent proposals for 25 clinics. Only one has been approved and started. The state government will take charge of the remaining 33 locations, appointing district surgeons as nodal officers,” said Dr. Nina Borade, Health Chief of PMC. She highlighted that groups such as laborers, construction workers, and street vendors would greatly benefit from such facilities.

A meeting involving the Health, Building, and Electricity departments is scheduled next week, chaired by the Municipal Commissioner, to resolve land disputes and chart a way forward.

While the vision of ‘Aapla Dawakhana’ remains promising, delays in coordination between the civic and state authorities have left many citizens without access to the primary care facilities they were promised.