ED Conducts Searches in Alleged AAP Health Project Scam

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches on Tuesday at the premises of former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and others, as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged scam in health infrastructure projects during the previous AAP government in Delhi, according to official sources.

At least 13 locations, including some belonging to private contractors and commercial real estate developers, in the National Capital Region, are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources added.

The ED's investigation into Bharadwaj, who is 45 and serves as the Delhi AAP unit chief and national spokesperson for his party, originates from an FIR lodged by Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in June.

The FIR named Bharadwaj, his party colleague and former health minister Satyendar Jain, as well as private contractors and unknown government officials, for alleged corruption in health infrastructure projects overseen by the AAP government led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

In response to the FIR, the AAP accused authorities of misusing agencies to tarnish its leaders' reputations.

The ACB's complaint was filed following allegations from the Delhi BJP in August the previous year about "grave irregularities and suspected corruption in various health infrastructure projects under the Delhi government".

The complaint alleged "systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds, and collusion with private contractors".

It claimed that during 2018-19, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore were approved but remained largely unfinished, with significant and unexplained cost escalations.

Additionally, the Rs 1,125-crore ICU Hospital Project, which was to comprise seven pre-engineered facilities totaling 6,800 beds, is reportedly only 50 percent complete after nearly three years and an expenditure of Rs 800 crore, despite an originally planned six-month completion period, ACB officials stated.

ED officials explained that the searches were warranted based on the evidence collected during their investigation and the allegations detailed in the FIR regarding substantial corruption, unjustified cost increases, unauthorized constructions, and fund misappropriation in the health infrastructure projects of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

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