Aapli Chikitsa scheme shut over contract delay by BMC | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The BMC’s flagship Aapli Chikitsa diagnostics testing scheme shut down as the BMC did not manage to appoint a new agency for carrying out tests in time after the old contract expired. The old contract ended on Dec 15, and the BMC rolled out a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to get the tests done in-house. Officials said the BMC invited bids and received bids from two diagnostic companies but could not finalise a company and award the contract as the companies failed to negotiate a lower price with the BMC. Under Aapli Chikitsa, citizens can get tested at civic hospitals and dispensaries for just Rs 5. The BMC subsidises the testing by paying the differences to the empaneled diagnostic companies. “This is a clear failure of the BMC to appoint a new company in time. The BMC’s health department is only working for contractors. There is a big contractor-official nexus. The BMC health department is a den of corruption. The BMC should have made sure that a new contract is awarded or the existing company is given an extension. If the old company is not willing to work, the BMC should take action against the company. Aapli Chikitsa is the BMC’s most important scheme, and this shutting down shows the incompetence of officials,” said former BJP Corporator Vinod Mishra.