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Delhi Police’s Anti-Corruption Branch registered a case against former Delhi health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain over alleged delays in hospital projects.
The AAP has denied the charges and alleged “weaponisation” of routine project delays. (Photo: PTI file)
Delhi Police’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) registered a case against former Delhi health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam related to delays in hospital projects. The ACB is likely to summon both Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders.
The case came after the Union Home Ministry approved conducting an investigation by ACB under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Bharadwaj and Jain.
“The competent authority has approved the conduct of an inquiry/investigation by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against former Delhi health ministers, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in the hospitals scam. The approval of the competent authority comes after, recommendation for the same, by Delhi LG, VK Saxena on May 6,” the official said.
The inquiry follows a complaint made by BJP’s Vijender Gupta last year in August. Gupta had alleged corruption in the Delhi government’s health department with the connivance of then ministers Bharadwaj and Jain, the official said.
The complaint alleged that in 2018-19, 24 hospital projects – 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield – were sanctioned for a total of Rs 5590 crore, but are yet mired in inexplicable delays and astronomical cost overruns, which clearly indicates a large scale of fund siphoning.
It also alleged that seven ICU hospitals with total bed capacity of 6,800 were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 1125 crore for construction by using pre-engineered structures, within six months from September, 2021. However, even after a lapse of more than three years, they are at a stage of mere 50 per cent completion with a cost of Rs 800 crore, it said.
The LNJP Hospital New Block Project, which was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 465.52 crore, has almost trebled to Rs 1,125 crore in just four years, it alleged.
“Upon prima facie perusal of the complaint, the ACB revealed consistent inflating of project costs, deliberate delays by the department, rejection of cost-effective solutions, mis-allocation of funds and creation of idle assets and termed the same as tactics and patterns of misconduct and corrupt activities, which resulted in huge loss to the government exchequer,” said the official.
The ACB moved the Vigilance Department (DoV) for prior approval under Section 17A of PoC Act to probe against Bharadwaj and Jain. The department forwarded the ACB’s findings to the Health and Family Welfare Department and the Public Works Department (PWD) for their comments.
The health department opined that these issues could be looked into by the ACB and they have no objection for conducting the inquiry.
The PWD recommended an investigation into the entire gamut of issues pertaining to construction of ICU Hospitals, polyclinics and 24 other hospitals, identify instances of corruption, irregularities and violation of laws and rules.
“Examining the proposal submitted by ACB and comments furnished by the two departments, the DoV, in a file noting said due to upgradation in specifications and facilities beyond original provision after award of work, the construction of hospitals was not completed in prescribed and stipulated time,” the official said.
The vigilance department said due diligence in estimate preparation and planning was allegedly not done accurately, which resulted in an abnormal increase in cost beyond the original sanctioned amount.
AAP Denies Charges
The AAP has denied the charges and alleged “weaponisation” of routine project delays.
Rubbishing the charges, the AAP said the BJP and the LG have turned governance into a “laughing stock” by “weaponising” routine project delays as alleged corruption.
“The hospitals’ construction sanctions were given in 2017-18 and 2021. The estimates were also approved at the same time. I became the health minister in 2023,” Bharadwaj said in the statement.
He claimed that after he became the health minister, no file related to the cost or revised estimates of the hospital project construction ever came to him nor did he ever give any approval for any cost escalations.
“In spite of this undeniable fact, conducting an investigation against me has made the whole matter ridiculous. Also, it shows the frustration and disappointment of the BJP and the lieutenant governor,” he said.
Claiming a stark contrast with the Centre’s own record, AAP questioned why no CBI inquiries were launched into the 10-year delay of the bullet train project or the “fact that 53 per cent of the central government infrastructure projects face delays exceeding three years and massive cost overruns”.
(With PTI inputs)
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
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