Punjab’s Healthcare in Shambles: Dewan Urges Infrastructure Upgrade Over Cosmetic Clinic Conversions

Ludhiana, February 5, 2026: Reacting strongly to the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP Government’s decision to convert 308 Subsidiary Health Centers (SHCs) into Aam Aadmi Clinics (AACs), former District Congress Committee Ludhiana (Urban) president and Ex-Chairman of Punjab Large Industrial Development Board Pawan Dewan accused the AAP regime of “befooling the people with hollow optics that have failed to deliver on the ground.”

Dewan criticized the move, pointing out that many of the 881 AACs already in existence are languishing in neglect, with several lacking even the most basic infrastructure. “Instead of strengthening healthcare delivery, the government is busy repainting dispensaries with catchy signboards while patients continue to suffer,” he remarked.

Dewan further charged that by removing SHCs (Rural Dispensaries) from the ambit of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department, the AAP government was deliberately undermining the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) — a direct violation of the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment, which enshrines grassroots democracy and decentralized governance.

“This is not healthcare reform; it is a systematic dilution of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. By stripping Panchayats of their rightful role in rural health management, the government is weakening the very foundation of local self-governance. Such actions are not only unacceptable but also dangerous for the democratic fabric of Punjab,” Dewan asserted. 

Lambasting the AAP government for its “abject failure” to provide quality health infrastructure and essential facilities to the people of Punjab, especially the neglected rural population, Dewan said that the conversion of 308 SHCs into AACs is nothing more than a “hollow publicity stunt”. Far from strengthening healthcare, he argued, this cosmetic exercise is designed to distract the public from the government’s chronic neglect and crumbling health system, leaving Punjab’s citizens to suffer while the ruling dispensation indulges in mere optics.

Demanding that the AAP government should prioritize upgrading the existing health infrastructure at the 308 SHCs instead of converting them into AACs for petty “political mileage”, Dewan said that people of Punjab are not mute spectators, while adding, “Citizens across the state are watching every move of this government with sharp eyes and their patience has run out. Determined to punish deception and neglect, the people are resolved to wipe out the AAP from the Punjab in the assembly elections slated for early next year.”