Tuesday | Jul 08 2025 | 11:13:22 AM
New Delhi, June 27
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) registered an FIR against the Aam Aadmi Party’s former health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged large-scale corruption in health infrastructure projects of the Delhi government.
The issue pertains to 24 hospitals, comprising 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield projects, which were sanctioned for Rs 5,590 crore in 2018-19. The ACB said that not a single project was completed within the prescribed timeline, and substantial deviations and cost escalations, amounting to several hundred crores of rupees, were observed.
In a Rs 1,125-crore ICU hospital project, comprising seven pre-engineered facilities with 6,800 beds, remains only 50% complete after nearly three years and an expenditure of Rs 800 crore despite an initial six-month completion timeline.
According to the ACB, the ministers allegedly caused violations of rules, tender conditions, and financial protocols were uncovered during scrutiny, revealing deliberate delays, inflated project costs, rejection of viable alternatives, and the creation of idle assets, collectively leading to massive losses to the public exchequer.
On August 22, 2024, a detailed complaint was received from Vijender Gupta, then Leader of Opposition, highlighting grave irregularities and suspected corruption in various health infrastructure projects.
The complaint named Bharadwaj and Jain, alleging systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds, and collusion with private contractors. It also alleged massive irregularities, unexplained delays, and significant misappropriation of funds in the construction of various hospitals, polyclinics, and ICU infrastructure across the city.
