Cong claims Rs 382 cr irregularity in AAP's Delhi ‘health model’

The Congress party on Wednesday levelled serious allegations against the ‘health model’ of Delhi's AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government, and claimed irregularities to the tune of Rs 382 crore in the allotment of projects, refurbishing of existing hospitals, and other policy decisions.

Addressing a press conference, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report to call out alleged corruption under the AAP government and listed multiple lapses, including cost escalation of projects, inflated tender costs, and also ‘criminal negligence’ by the AAP dispensation during the Covid pandemic.

“There are at least 14 CAG reports pointing to serious lapses and flagrant violation of protocols in AAP governance,” Maken said at the presser themed around ‘AAP ke Paap’. He said when the AAP was formed, it used CAG reports to target governments but today it finds itself mired in corruption and scams. He also accused the AAP government of intentionally and deliberately stalling the release of the CAG report, fearing backlash in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

Citing a CAG report pertaining to the health sector, Maken alleged a scam of Rs 382 crore, which he said has been well-documented.

“At present, there are 14 CAG reports in which there are serious allegations of corruption against the AAP government, but now those reports are not coming out. We want to ask Kejriwal, how a scam of Rs 382 crore in the health sector has happened. The AAP government claims that three new hospitals have been built. All three hospitals saw the tender amount inflated by a huge margin,” he claimed.

Giving out details of cost escalation in hospital projects, Maken said Burari Hospital saw Rs 41 crore extra funds spent on its construction while the cost of Maulana Azad Dental College was escalated by Rs 26 crore.

Maken also pointed to alleged lapses by the Arvind Kejriwal government during the Covid pandemic and said as per the CAG report, 56 per cent of Central funds remained unspent because of its inefficient governance. “AAP government got a grant of Rs 635 crore from the Centre but that couldn’t be fully spent — Rs 360 crore of the grant lapsed and was sent back. It’s nothing less than criminal negligence by the state government,” Maken claimed. He also trained his guns at the government over the poor administration of hospitals and medical services.

He said the four hospitals picked for the CAG survey remain beset by multiple issues, including defunct equipment, shortage of beds and huge waiting periods in surgery departments.

The ‘disclosures’ on alleged corruption during AAP rule are set to raise political temperatures ahead of the assembly elections. Meanwhile, the AAP maintains that the CAG report is non-existent as it has neither been tabled in the assembly nor published on the watchdog’s own portal, and hence it’s a ploy by its rivals to mislead the voters.