BJP MLAs allege corruption in Delhi govt's hospital projects; lodge complaint with ACB

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The BJP MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, lodged a complaint with the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) on Thursday over alleged corruption in the hospital projects of the AAP government.

The BJP legislators handed over a complaint to Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB) Madhur Verma, alleging "financial misconduct and corruption" in the Health department.

"A complaint was received and its is being looked into," Verma said.

No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the BJP's allegations.

Between 2018-19, Delhi's health department sanctioned 24 hospital projects, including 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield projects, with a total budget of Rs. 5,590 crore. Despite the substantial funds allocated, these projects have seen "delays and exorbitant cost overruns," claimed Gupta.

"The scale of the corruption is staggering, with numerous projects in the health department being delayed, budgets inflated, and public funds siphoned off," alleged Gupta in a statement.

He claimed the 24 hospitals, to be constructed as pre-engineered structures for swift completion within 6 months to one year, from September 2021, remain only 50 per cent complete.

"Shockingly, over Rs 800 crore of public money is at risk of being completely wasted due to poor planning and deliberate negligence," he claimed further.

The complaint also claimed that in case of LNJP hospital project, there was an escalation of cost from Rs 487.66 crore to Rs 1,125 crore in just four years, with no "clear justification" for such an increase.

The delegation demanded the ACB a thorough probe into the alleged corruption in the Health department. PTI SHB ALK AS AS