Chennai, Jan 4 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu government has decided to shut down Amma mini-clinics launched by the previous AIADMK government.

Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian on Tuesday announced that the Amma mini-clinics would be shut down in the state. He said that the clinics will be shut down due to their non-performance.

Subramanian also said that the doctors employed in these Amma mini-clinics would be absorbed in other vacancies.

Amma mini-clinics were launched on December 14, 2020, by the previous AIADMK government in memory of the late Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo, J. Jayalalithaa. There were 2,000 Amma mini-clinics across the state and 1,500 doctors were recruited to run these clinics.

After Covid-19 cases spiked during 2021, the doctors of these clinics were diverted to Government medical colleges to attend to Covid patients.

The AIADMK has criticized the decision of the state government. Former Chief Minister and AIADMK chief coordinator, O. Pannerselvam in a statement on Tuesday said that the DMK's politics of vendetta was the main reason behind the shutting down of the Amma clinics rather than non-performance. He said that the DMK government has also shut down the Amma canteens that were also opened by the previous AIADMK government in a bid to help the poor to get cheap quality food across the state.