Delhi: ACB books Saurabh Bhardwaj, Satyendra Jain in hospital construction scam

New Delhi: Former health ministers and AAP leaders Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendra Jain were booked by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Delhi, for alleged corruption in health infrastructure projects involving 24 hospitals and expenditure of Rs 5,590 crore by the Delhi Government, an official said on Thursday.

The cheating, breach of trust and conspiracy case was registered after the Centre, on the recommendation of Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, granted sanction for proceedings against the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s minister under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The financial embezzlement linked to the projects, mired in inexplicable delays and astronomical cost overruns, took place in 2018-19, said the official.

Massive irregularities, unexplained delays, and significant misappropriation of funds have been found in the construction of various hospitals, polyclinics and ICU infrastructure across the city, said an investigator.

“An FIR – No. 37/2025 – dated June 26, under Section 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Sections 409, 420, and 120-B of the IPC, has been registered at Police Station Anti-Corruption Branch, GNCTD against Saurabh Bhardwaj, Satyendar Jain, unknown government officials, and private contractors,” said an investigator.

Substantial deviations and cost escalations, amounting to several hundred crores, were observed. Not a single project was completed within the prescribed timeline, said the complaint filed on August 22 by the then Leader of Opposition, Vijender Gupta.

Gupta had highlighted grave irregularities and suspected corruption in various health infrastructure projects under the GNCTD.

The complaint named former Health Ministers Bhardwaj and Jain, alleging systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds, and collusion with private contractors.

It was alleged that during 2018–2019, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crores were sanctioned.

However, these projects remained largely incomplete, with substantial and unexplained cost escalations. Similarly, the Rs 1,125-crore ICU Hospital Project, covering seven pre-engineered facilities with a total of 6,800 beds, remains only half-complete after nearly three years and expenditure of Rs 800 crores, despite an initial six-month completion timeline.

Verification of the complaint revealed unauthorised additional construction at government hospitals in Jwalapuri (by M/s Parnika Commercial & Estate Pvt Ltd) and Madipur (by M/s Ramacivil India Construction Pvt Ltd), carried out without approval from competent authorities, the complaint said.

Notably, the Madipur hospital project was to be completed by November 2022, but remains abandoned and far from completion, it said.

It was revealed that the seven ICU hospitals, contracted to M/s SAM India Buildwell Pvt Ltd, witnessed cost escalations exceeding 100 per cent, with construction still incomplete well beyond the deadline of February 2022.

Verification also found that the New Block at LNJP Hospital, awarded to M/s Swadeshi Civil Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, saw project costs escalate from Rs 488 crore to Rs 1,135 crore over four years, with the structure still incomplete beyond its January 2023 deadline.

Additionally, the Polyclinic Project also indicated misuse of funds – only 52 out of 94 planned clinics were constructed, while the cost rose from Rs 168 crore to Rs 220 crore, said the complaint, adding that many of these polyclinics remain non-functional.

Despite a public announcement in 2016–17, the Health Information Management System (HIMS) – a crucial tool for ensuring financial transparency in the health department – remained unimplemented, said the complaint.

A free, cost-effective solution from NIC (e-Hospital) was deliberately rejected without justification, said Gupta in his complaint.

IANS