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The Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi government on Thursday filed a first information report against Aam Aadmi Party leaders and former ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged irregularities in the construction of 24 hospitals, reported The Indian Express.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vijender Gupta in August. Gupta had alleged that Bharadwaj and Jain were involved in systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds and collusion with private contractors, according to the newspaper.
In 2018-’19, the then-Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi sanctioned 24 hospital projects, of which 11 were greenfield and 13 brownfield, for Rs 5,590 crore, reported ANI. However, unexplained delays and massive cost overruns “amounting to several hundred crores” have been found in the projects, the news agency quoted Joint Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma as saying.
Verma added that none of the projects have been completed within the stipulated time.
The development and improvement of an existing project is classified as brownfield while construction of a new facility is considered a greenfield.
In its FIR, the Anti-Corruption Branch has also flagged alleged irregularities in the construction of the Rs 1,125 crore Intensive Care Unit hospital project, which was intended to be completed in six months but remains only 50% finished after nearly three years and an expenditure of Rs 800 crore, The Indian Express reported.
The branch further claimed that upon verification of Gupta’s complaint, it was found that unauthorised constructions had taken place at government hospitals in Jwalapuri and Madipur.
Further, the construction of a new block at the Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital awarded to Swadeshi Civil Infrastructure Private Limited saw costs jump from Rs 488 crore to Rs 1,135 crore with construction still incomplete, claimed the Anti-Corruption Branch. It was due to be completed by January 2023, ANI reported.
Significant mismanagement of funds was also observed in a polyclinic project, with only 52 out of 94 clinics being built and costs rising from Rs 168 crore to Rs 220 crore, alleged the branch. It added that many of these polyclinics remain non-functional, according to The Indian Express.
Moreover, the Health Information Management System that was announced in 2016-’17 as a step toward transparency has not been implemented yet, it claimed.
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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