Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain Face Fresh Trouble as ACB Registers FIR in ₹2,000 Crore Scam
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The troubles of former Delhi Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and former Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who are on bail after being in jail for a long time in the alleged liquor policy scam and money laundering case, are not decreasing. A new case has now been registered against these two senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regarding the alleged scam related to the construction of new classrooms in government schools. The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has alleged a scam of Rs 2000 crore in this case and has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the then Education Minister Manish Sisodia and PWD Minister Satyendra Jain.
A statement issued by the ACB said that a huge scam of about Rs 2,000 crore has come to light in the construction of a total of 12,748 classrooms and buildings during the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. The ACB alleges that classrooms with semi-permanent structure (SPS) with an estimated life of only 30 years were constructed at the same cost as the construction of RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) classrooms that last for 75 years. The ACB claims that there was no clear financial benefit from adopting SPS construction, rather the cost was increased unnecessarily.
According to the Anti-Corruption Branch, the project was allegedly awarded to certain contractors linked to the Aam Aadmi Party. Significant deviations and excessive cost overruns were observed in the implementation of the project, while not a single work could be completed within the stipulated time period.
The ACB has also said that consultants and architects were appointed for the project without following proper procedure and the construction cost was increased through them. The Chief Technical Examiner report of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) also pointed out many discrepancies and irregularities in the project, but it is alleged that this important report was suppressed for almost three years. The ACB said that this action has been taken after getting the necessary permission from the competent authority to register a case under section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
It is worth noting that several leaders including BJP leaders Harish Khurana, Kapil Mishra and Neelkanth Bakshi had earlier lodged complaints about corruption in the construction of classrooms in government schools. The ACB has made some more specific allegations in its statement. According to them, the lump sum cost of construction of a school room as per the tender was around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, while in Delhi such rooms can usually be built for around Rs 5 lakh per room. Additionally, it is also alleged that the project was given to a total of 34 contractors, most of whom are reportedly associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.
