New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi government has registered a case against former AAP ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged corruption in health infrastructure projects of the previous government, officials said on Thursday.

The case was registered days after the Union home ministry granted approval for conducting an investigation by the ACB under the Prevention of Corruption Act against former Delhi health ministers Bharadwaj and Jain.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) questioned why the FIR against Bharadwaj and Jain is being kept under wraps, while selective press notes are being leaked to the media.

"Is the FIR so baseless that the BJP fears it will become a national joke if released publicly?" it asked.

The FIR has been registered under section Section 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Sections 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 120-B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against Bharadwaj, Jain, unknown government officials, and private contractors, said Madhur Verma, joint commissioner of police, ACB.

A comprehensive investigation has been launched to uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy and determine the roles and accountability of the former ministers, officials, and private entities involved, he added.

According to Verma, 24 hospital projects - 11 greenfield and 13 brownfield - were sanctioned at a cost of Rs 5,590 crore in 2018–19.

These projects are mired in inexplicable delays and astronomical cost overruns, they said.

On August 22 last year, a detailed complaint was received from Gupta, then Leader of Opposition, Delhi, highlighting "grave irregularities and suspected corruption in various health infrastructure projects under the Delhi government", said Verma.

The complaint named Bharadwaj and Jain, alleging "systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds, and collusion with private contractors", he added.

It was alleged that during 2018–2019, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore 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 50 per cent complete after nearly three years and expenditure of Rs 800 crore, despite an initial six-month completion timeline, Verma said.

Verification of the complaint revealed unauthorised additional construction at government hospitals in Jwalapuri and Madipur carried out without approval from competent authorities, he said.

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

It was revealed that the seven ICU hospitals have witnessed cost escalations exceeding 100 per cent, with construction still incomplete well beyond the deadline of February 2022, he added.

Verma said the New Block at LNJP Hospital 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.

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. 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 - remains unimplemented, he said, adding a free, cost-effective solution from NIC (e-Hospital) was deliberately rejected without justification.

"Serious violations of rules, tender conditions, and financial protocols were uncovered during scrutiny, revealing deliberate delays, inflated project costs, rejection of viable alternatives, and the creation of idle assets - collectively leading to massive losses to the public exchequer," Verma said in a statement.

The AAP alleged blatant misuse of agencies to defame its leaders. Citing official records, AAP pointed out that the ACB's own documents admit the projects in question were sanctioned in 2017-18 and HIMS was announced in 2016-17, years before Bharadwaj assumed office in 2023.

"In criminal cases, it is standard practice to release the FIR to the media. The LG and ACB are deliberately withholding the FIR because it would expose the mockery of law being orchestrated by the BJP government," Bharadwaj said in a statement.

Bharadwaj, who is also AAP Delhi convener, said the FIR would make it abundantly clear that, without any reasonable cause, only two former ministers have been named-while all health and PWD officers, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, have been spared.

Jain said there is no evidence yet to suggest that these project sanctions were marred by corruption.

"Moreover, all these sanctions predate Bharadwaj's tenure. How can a minister be held liable for actions taken two to five years before assuming office? Is this some kind of joke?” he questioned. PTI SLB ZMN