Anti Corruption Bureau probing another AAP scam: What is Delhi Hospital Scam in which AAP leaders Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendar Jain are facing investigation
The Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has been officially authorized by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to launch an inquiry against former health ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendar Jain in relation to a hospital scam involving thousands of crores, marking a significant political upheaval. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s proposal led to the probe’s clearance on 6th May.
The approval was granted in accordance with section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which stipulates that any inquiry or investigation into a public official must first acquire consent from the appropriate authority.
The investigation stems from a complaint that senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta (current Speaker of Delhi Assembly) submitted on 22nd August 2024, charging widespread financial irregularities and procedural violations while the Aam Aadmi Party was in power in the national capital.
According to him, both ministers were responsible for significant delays and exorbitant expenses regarding multiple health sector projects. The Vigilance Department transmitted the request to the appropriate departments after the ACB referred the matter to them for permission to investigate the two AAP leaders.
What is the scam
The Delhi government approved ₹5,590 crore for 24 hospital projects between 2018 and 2019, comprising 11 new (greenfield) and 13 renovation (brownfield) projects, based on official statistics. Nevertheless, the initiatives experienced prolonged postponements and considerable cost increases.
“It came to notice that in 2018-19, 24 hospital projects were sanctioned for a total cost of ₹5,590 crore. But inexplicable delays and astronomical cost overruns indicate a large scale of fund siphoning,” disclosed a source in LG office, reported The Hindu.
An additional ₹1,125 crore was approved for seven intensive care units with 6,800 beds. Nevertheless, after three years, just half of the work was completed, despite the fact that ₹800 crore had already been spent. The construction of seven hospitals employed pre-engineered structures was approved for ₹1,125 crore in September 2021, however, as of 2024, “only 50% of the work was completed, while ₹800 crore was utilised.”
The expansion of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital is one of the projects presently under inquiry. The cost of building a new block there nearly “tripled to ₹1,125 crore” from ₹465.52 crore, in just four years. Similarly, just 52 polyclinics were built at a greater expense of ₹220 crore out of a ₹168 crore polyclinic proposal for 94 centers.
Moreover, the Health Information Management System (HIMS) was purposefully postponed for years in an apparent attempt to evade transparency.
“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,” informed an official.
The ACB requested prior permission from the Vigilance Department (DoV) to investigate Bhardwaj and Jain under Section 17A of the PoC Act. The department sent the findings to the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Health and Family Welfare Department for their feedback. The ACB might investigate these matters, according to the health department, and they have no objections to it.
The PWD suggested looking into every possible problem related to the setup of intensive care units, polyclinics and 24 other hospitals. They also recommended probing for instances of corruption, irregularities as well as legal and regulatory violations.
The official mentioned, “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.”
According to the vigilance department, due diligence in planning and estimate preparation was reportedly not performed accurately, which resulted to an unusual cost increase that exceeded the initial approved amount.
AAP denies the allegations
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which refuted the accusations, claimed that the saffron party and the LG had “weaponized” regular project delays as corruption, turning governance into a “laughing stock.” Bhardwaj asserted, “The construction of hospitals was sanctions were given in 2017-18 and 2021. The estimates were also approved at the same time. I became the health minister in 2023.”
He asserted that no paperwork pertaining to the cost or updated estimates of the hospital project construction ever reached him after he was appointed health minister and he never approved any monetary 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 added.
The party maintained that Jain had no involvement in the aforementioned initiatives and questioned the rationale of opening an investigation against him. AAP claimed that it was illogical to blame ministers because all of the officers working on these projects answer directly to the LG and charged, “If this is the yardstick, then several union ministers should face CBI probes every week,” alleging significant cost extensions and delays in central government projects.
According to AAP over 56.3% of union government projects under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI) supervision were behind schedule with average delays exceeding three years, as of March 2023. It then emphasized that the 2015-approved Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project has been stalled for almost ten years and whose cost has increased by 85% from ₹1.08 lakh crore to ₹2 lakh crore. The party challenged whether corruption probe would be triggered by the center’s delays.
AAP contended, “As per central government data, common causes for delays in projects include delayed regulatory approvals, land acquisition issues, financial constraints, contractor non-performance, environmental clearances and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Can corruption cases be registered against Ministers for these reasons?”
BJP welcomes the move
Virendra Sachdeva, the president of the Delhi BJP, applauded the action and outlined that the investigation would reveal the corruption that occurred under the AAP’s health administration. He asserted that s cams involving the building of Mohalla Clinics, hospital testing contracts, contract health worker employment and hospital upgrades have all been ignored between 2015 and 2024.
He highlighted that public funds were being embezzled while the Kejriwal administration was occupied with promoting its “world-class” health model. ‘Today, when both former ministers failed to even retain their security deposit in the elections, it shows the public has delivered its verdict,” he expressed.
“Team Arvind Kejriwal” will have to respond to all inquiries regarding “looting” public funds, according to the Delhi BJP. The party declared that Jain and Bharadwaj lost the Delhi assembly elections because voters noticed the corruption in the health department.
AAP and its corrupt legacy: Delhi liquor policy scam
The Aam Aadmi Party, which asserted itself as the people’s government, has been marred by scandals since it came to power in the national capital. The most prominent of these scams is the 2021 Delhi excise policy or liquor policy scam, which resulted in the imprisonment of the party’s senior leadership and founding members, including Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor and former Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, the former Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of Delhi, Satyendar Jain, a cabinet minister, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and others.
Kejriwal, who was arrested on 21st March 2024, after failing to respond to nine summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the liquor scam, made history as the first sitting chief minister in the country to be arrested. The policy had to be retracted later.
The policy enabled only private establishments to sell alcohol, excluding the government from the business. AAP permitted liquor delivery to homes and allowed stores to remain open until three in the morning. Additionally, licensees could provide limitless discounts. However, the changes swiftly encountered difficulties with Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and the Delhi Police’s Economic Offenses Wing.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also opened an investigation, uncovered money laundering and revealed that a liquor lobby known as the “South Group” provided at least ₹100 crore in kickbacks to AAP for its Goa election campaign. The group’s whims were accommodated by Manish Sisodia in exchange for an upfront payment.
The ED underlined that the government lost ₹2,800 crore as a result of the scam. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) also stated that it cost the public coffers an astounding ₹2,026 crore.
Satyendar Jain had already served time in prison for accumulating assets totaling ₹1.47 crore in a case involving excessive assets. A money laundering investigation later led the ED to seize properties valued at ₹4.81 crore that belonged to four businesses associated with him and his family.
Delhi Waqf Board scam
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Amanatullah Khan, Delhi Waqf Board chairman and Okhla MLA, stole lakhs of rupees he obtained as the board’s chairman following the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu Riots under the pretense of providing aid to the victims. He bought a ₹19 lakh property in the name of his second wife, Maryam Siddique, who is completely reliant on him and unemployed, shortly after the Delhi Waqf Board Relief Committee formed in 2020.
He paid for this in part with cash and then with money he received from his close friend Zeeshan Haider. The agency further shared that Amanatullah Khan did not provide all the details in his election affidavit. He had not disclosed that his second wife, Maryam Siddique, was entirely dependent on him and had no income.
The investigation discovered irregularities in the appointment of staff, abuse of official authority as chairman, improper allocation of the Delhi Waqf Board’s property tenancy without following the correct procedures and possession of assets out of proportion to his known revenue streams. Amanatullah Khan was diverting funds with the assistance of his associates, Zeeshan Haider and Daud Nasir.
The purchase of a property in Tikona Park, Okhla, through these associates and Kausar, involved cash transfers totaling ₹27 crore, according to a handwritten notebook that belonged to the latter. A testimony from a female Delhi Waqf Board employee was also recorded by the ACB.
She mentioned that in accordance with Amanatullah Khan’s instructions, files pertaining to the Waqf Assets Management System of India (WAMSI) project were deleted. She added that he wished to hide his illicit actions by avoiding transparency regarding Waqf Board properties.
Classroom construction scam
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has also launched legal action against former Public Works Department (PWD) minister Satyendar Jain and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on allegations of corruption in the building of 12,748 classrooms during the Arvind Kejriwal government.
According to officials, a massive scam totaling more than ₹2,000 crore was uncovered when the AAP government erected 12,748 classrooms and other buildings in Delhi. “Significant deviations and cost escalations were observed, and not a single work was completed within the prescribed period. Consultant and Architect appointed without following due procedure, and cost escalations were carried out through him,” unveiled the authorities.
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