ACB registers FIR against AAP’s former Delhi health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Satyendar Jain

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has registered a case against former AAP ministers Satyendar Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj over alleged corruption and financial irregularities in health infrastructure projects approved during the previous government’s tenure.

The case, registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, follows approval from the Union Home Ministry under Section 17A of the Act. The sanction was granted after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended an inquiry on May 6. The ACB’s request to proceed was based on a complaint filed by BJP leader Vijender Gupta in August last year, alleging large-scale corruption in hospital construction projects under Jain and Bharadwaj’s watch.

According to officials, 24 hospital projects — 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield — worth Rs 5,590 crore were sanctioned in 2018–19. These included seven ICU hospitals with a combined bed capacity of 6,800 approved in 2021 for completion within six months using pre-engineered structures at a cost of Rs 1,125 crore. However, over three years later, the projects are only 50 per cent complete, with spending already touching ₹800 crore.

The LNJP Hospital’s new block, originally sanctioned at ₹465.52 crore, has reportedly ballooned to Rs 1,125 crore in four years. The ACB’s preliminary review found evidence of inflated project costs, rejection of cost-effective solutions, misallocation of funds, and the creation of idle assets—patterns it called indicative of misconduct and corruption.

The Department of Vigilance forwarded the ACB’s findings to the Health and PWD departments, both of which did not object to an inquiry. The PWD even recommended a comprehensive probe into all associated projects, citing cost overruns due to poor planning, hasty upgrades, and flawed estimate preparation.

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Denying the allegations, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP and the LG of weaponising administrative delays. “I became health minister in 2023. No files related to revised costs or approvals ever came to me,” Bharadwaj said in a statement, terming the probe “ridiculous” and “politically motivated.”

AAP also questioned why no investigations were being launched into central projects with similar or worse delays and cost overruns, including the bullet train project. “If this is the new definition of corruption, dozens of Union ministers should face CBI action every week,” the party said.

The Delhi BJP, meanwhile, welcomed the investigation, stating that “Team Arvind Kejriwal” must answer for “looting” public funds and claimed that the alleged corruption was one reason for Jain and Bharadwaj’s electoral defeats in the recent Assembly polls.

(With inputs from PTI)