ACB files FIR against AAP leaders, Bharadwaj, Jain, in hospital case

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has registered a case against former AAP ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged corruption in health infrastructure projects, officials said on Thursday.

The case was registered days after the Union Home Ministry granted approval for conducting an investigation against the former Delhi health ministers by the ACB under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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The investigation follows a complaint by BJP leader Vijender Gupta on August 22, 2024 under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).

Going by the allegations, during 2018-19, 24 hospital projects – 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield – were launched at a cost of Rs 5,590 crore. However, due to the stagnation of the projects, the cost escalated multiple times.

Similarly, in September 2021, the AAP government announced a plan to build seven ICU hospitals with a combined capacity of 6,800 beds within six months at a cost of Rs 1,125 crore. But after three years, only 50 per cent of the work had been completed, and Rs 800 crore had already been spent.

Furthermore, under the AAP government, the cost of constructing a new block at Delhi’s largest government hospital, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP), escalated from 465 crore to 1,125 crore rupees. Meanwhile, a plan to construct 94 polyclinics for Rs 168 crore resulted in only 52 polyclinics being built, with Rs 220 crore spent. The Health Information Management System (HIMS) was also deliberately delayed for years, allegedly to avoid transparency.