The anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government will initiate a probe against former ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in the alleged hospital graft scam, according to agency sources.
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), it added.
“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 H&FW opined that these are issues, which can be looked into by the ACB and the Department has no objection for conducting the inquiry,” it added.
As per the allegations, during 2018–19, 24 hospital projects: 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield were approved at a cost of Rs 5,590 crore. However, due to the stagnation of the projects, costs escalated multiple times.
Similarly, in September 2021, the AAP government announced a plan to build 7 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 percent of the work had been completed, and ₹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.
Responding to the allegations, Bharadwaj said, “BJP and its LG have turned governance into a “laughing stock” by weaponising routine project delays as alleged corruption.”
“I became the Health Minister in 2023 and after that, no file related to the cost or revised estimates of the hospital project construction ever came to me nor did I 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 LG,” he added.