ImplementedAAP Arvind Kejriwal19 Jul 2015State: delhi

Delhi Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics (2015)

Delhi's AAP government opened the first Mohalla Clinic on 19 July 2015 and planned 1,000 neighbourhood clinics with free consultation, medicines and tests. A CAG audit tabled in 2025 reported 523 clinics by March 2023.

Delhi

Facts
Why
Benefits and concerns
Evidence points
Sources

Facts

Search-result summaries of press and ORF reports state that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the first Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic at Peeragarhi, west Delhi, on 19 July 2015, in a relief camp serving a slum population of over 12,000 (the pages were not opened) [3].
The model offered free consultations, medicines and diagnostic tests; the plan was for 1,000 clinics in slum clusters and poorer neighbourhoods (same search-result summaries) [3].
ORF is reported in search results as saying clinics grew from 106 in 2016 to 519 in 2022 [3].
A CAG performance audit of primary healthcare in Delhi was tabled in the Delhi Assembly in February 2025 (The Tribune reported the planned tabling date as 28 February 2025). It reported that the plan of 1,000 clinics was not met, with 523 established by March 2023 [2]. The CAG listing page records the shortfall in setting up clinics without giving the number [1].
Per The Tribune, in four selected districts 41 of 218 clinics were closed for periods from 15 days to 23 months because of de-empanelment, resignation or leave of doctors; among 74 clinics checked, 10 lacked drinking water, 21 had no toilet, 12 were not disabled-friendly and 31 lacked adequate drug storage [2].
Per The Tribune, 70% of patients visiting between October 2022 and March 2023 had consultations under one minute, and savings against project budgets ranged from 31.44% (2022-23) to 86.36% (2018-19) [2].
Search-result summaries of other press reports add that only 175 of 11,191 required inspections of 218 clinics were carried out between March 2018 and March 2023 and that an AAP spokesperson said the report showed 552 functioning clinics (not opened) [2].

Why

Reasons given by those who did it

At the inauguration Kejriwal said waiting times for bigger diseases diagnosed in big hospitals would be reduced, as reported in [3].
The government's stated aim was to bring free primary care closer to poorer neighbourhoods and ease crowding at large hospitals [3].

Criticism of that reasoning

The CAG report found planning and implementation of the project was deficient, with savings of 31.44% to 86.36% of allocations in different years [2].
AAP has disputed parts of the audit, including the clinic count, per a search-result summary (see fact above).

Benefits and concerns

Benefits (2)

Free primary care was brought into low-income neighbourhoods at scale.Growth from 106 clinics (2016) to 519 (2022) per ORF as reported in search results [3]; 523 by March 2023 per the audit as reported [2].
The scheme has been independently audited, so its performance is on public record.CAG performance audit listing [1] and press summary of findings [2].

Concerns (3)

The clinic target was not met.523 established against a plan of 1,000 [2].
Staffing and facilities gaps and short consultations were reported.41 of 218 clinics closed for periods; 70% of consultations under a minute; 21 of 74 clinics without toilets [2].
Planning and implementation were described as deficient, with budget savings of 31% to 86% in different years.Quoted from the audit by The Tribune [2].

Evidence points

−0.5

points, mean of two scorers (scale −25 to +25)

−1 to 0

range between the two scorers' totals

Medium confidence

scorers agree within 1 point on every criterion

ReachHow many people did the action materially affect?

Mean +2.0A +2B +2

Outcome evidenceDo official or independent data show the intended result (or its opposite), compared with the era baseline and peers?

Mean 0.0A 0B 0

Cost and sustainabilityIs the fiscal cost proportionate, and is the effect durable?

Mean −1.0A −1B −1

Process and rightsWas it made with debate, consultation and legal soundness, and did it respect rights and court rulings?

Mean −0.5A −1B 0

DeliveryWas it implemented as announced, on time and at scale?

Mean −1.0A −1B −1

Positive meanNegative meanScorer AScorer B

Scorer A. 523 clinics against a plan of 1,000, with closures, facility gaps and audit-reported deficient planning, though free primary care did reach poorer areas.

Scorer B. 523 clinics against 1,000 planned, with CAG-reported staffing and facility gaps; free primary care reached many poor residents.

Context used when scoring

Era baseline: Delhi's primary health system in 2015 relied on government dispensaries and large hospitals; the sources opened do not give baseline utilisation figures.
Lag before outcomes show: 3 years
Shocks considered: covid-2020
Uncertainty: Medium confidence. Scorer totals are −1 and 0. How uncertainty is shown.

In depth

The Mohalla Clinic model placed small, free primary-care clinics in neighbourhoods, with a doctor, medicines and basic tests. The first opened in July 2015, and the government set a target of 1,000.

The best-documented independent assessment is the CAG performance audit tabled in February 2025, which examined the years to March 2023. It reported 523 clinics against the target, gaps in staffing, facilities and inspections, and short consultation times. AAP disputed parts of it, including the clinic count. The audit was tabled under a different government than the one that ran the scheme, a context readers may weigh.

The CAG audit covered inputs and processes; the sources opened do not report patient health outcomes or the effect on hospital crowding, so those effects are not assessed. The full CAG report PDF was not opened; its listing page and press accounts were used.

Sources

Audit Report of the CAG for the year ended 31 March 2022 (Report 5 of 2024), Delhi - performance audit of primary healthcare (listing page)
Comptroller and Auditor General of IndiaPrimary
CAG report highlights Mohalla clinic vacancies, overcrowding in hospitals
The TribuneMedia
Delhi's Mohalla Clinics - the first line of defence (seen in search results, not opened; launch details also from other press pages in the same results)
Observer Research FoundationMedia

Last reviewed 11 Oct 2026.Report an error orchallenge a score.

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