New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has raided the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Health Minister, Saurabh Bhardwaj. The raid has been conducted in a case related to alleged irregularities in health projects during the tenure of the Delhi government. The ED’s investigation is related to hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore under the previous ‘AAP’ government. The raid has been conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and searches are being conducted at about a dozen places in Delhi. On the ED raid, AAP leader and Kejriwal’s close aide Manish Sisodia has termed this action as a “diversionary strategy” and claimed that the case is false and baseless.
This scam is related to hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore started by the Delhi government in 2018-19. Many irregularities have come to light in these projects. The construction of these hospitals was to be completed in six months, but even after three years the work is incomplete. Despite spending nearly 800 crores, only 50 per cent of the work has been completed. The cost of LNJP hospital increased from 488 crores to 1,135 crores, but there was no significant progress in the work.
At many places, construction work was started without proper approval. The role of contractors is also under suspicion. The project of Hospital Information Management System (HIMS), which is pending since 2016, is also accused of deliberate delay. In this case, former health ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendra Jain are under investigation. The ED has filed its ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in this regard.
