Apla Dawakhana clinics in Thane closed; BJP MLA seeks action against private company

Thane, Oct 24 (PTI) Local BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar on Friday demanded that the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) take action against the contractor as the `Apla Dawakhana' clinics in the city have shut down and the employees have not been paid their salaries for six months.

Nurses and other employees of Apla Dawakhana clinics, set up at 40 locations in the city, approached the MLA during a public grievance hearing program and claimed that they celebrated a "dark Diwali" as the Bengaluru-based private firm running the clinics did not pay their salaries.

The ward-level clinics, modelled on the Mohalla clinics in Delhi, were introduced after Eknath Shinde became Maharashtra chief minister.

Notably, civic elections are expected to be held this year, and it is not yet clear whether the the Shinde-led Sena and BJP, allies in the state government, will contest the polls together. Thane is considered to be Shinde's bastion.

In a statement, Kelkar said the private firm was supposed to run the clinics till October as per its contract with the TMC, but the clinics closed in August.

While the administration claims to have imposed a Rs 56 lakh fine on the company, it shows "little regard" for the TMC, he said, adding that the municipal corporation must recover all fines, use that money to pay the employees' pending salaries, and blacklist the company.

"The administration should take immediate action, otherwise these employees will take out a protest march to the municipal corporation headquarters," the BJP MLA warned. PTI COR KRK