Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 30: The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has registered a case against former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and ex-PWD minister Satyendar Jain in connection with an alleged Rs 2,000 cr scam related to the construction of school classrooms during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s tenure.
According to the ACB, 12,748 classrooms were built at allegedly inflated costs by contractors, many reportedly linked to AAP. The scam involves the construction of semi-permanent structure (SPS) classrooms with a lifespan of around 30 years at prices equivalent to reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structures, which typically last 75 years.
The chief technical examiner of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a suppressed 2020 report, flagged major procedural violations, cost escalations, and post-tender irregularities in the Rs 2,892 cr project. The report cited breaches of the CPWD Works Manual 2014, General Financial Rules 2017, and CVC guidelines.
Complaints by BJP leaders Harish Khurana, MLA Kapil Mishra, and Neelkanth Bakshi alleged that classroom construction costs reached an average Rs 24.86 lac per room, five times the usual cost. The CVC report highlighted that classroom construction cost Rs 2,292 per sq ft nearly matching RCC construction rates without any financial rationale.
Further, contract values were raised by up to 90 per cent without fresh tenders, leading to an escalation of Rs 326.25 cr. In at least five schools, work worth Rs 42.5 cr was carried out without valid tenders, officials said.
The ACB said consultants and architects were appointed in violation of due process and facilitated the inflated costs. The Expenditure Finance Committee had approved the project for completion by June 2016 without any scope for escalation, yet costs continued to rise.
The case marks a fresh blow to the AAP, with two of its key leaders now facing corruption charges as investigations widen.