BJP alleges fraud in AAP's PWD tenders for hospitals

BJP alleges fraud in AAP's PWD tenders for hospitals
Minister Satyendar Jain. Source: IANS

New Delhi, Sep 30 (IANS) Alleging a big fraud in Delhi PWD tenders for setting up of seven temporary hospitals, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari has written to Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) stating that AAP-led Delhi government has favoured a private firm by awarding all the projects to them, requesting an enquiry in the role and involvement of Minister Satyendar Jain.

"On the day of retirement on August 31, 2021, Shashi Kant, Engineer in Chief, Delhi PWD, approved three tenders in favour of a single firm -- SAM (India) Buildwell Pvt Ltd amounting to Rs 1,256 cr for setting up temporary hospitals at seven locations in Delhi," the letter written by Manoj Tiwari read.

These seven locations are Shalimar Bagh, Kirari, Sultanpuri, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalya, GTB Hospital Complex, Sarita Vihar, Raghubir Nagar.

The letter further alleged that in all these cases, justified cost has been increased by Sanjeev Rastogi, Chief Engineer on the pretext that the present market rate of structural tubes is Rs 70,000 per tonne, whereas in the NIT, the rate taken is Rs 52,625 per tonne.

The MP has pointed to six doubts in the context of these projects.

Early this month Delhi's Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Satyendar Jain said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is constructing seven new hospitals with a unique building material technique.

All steel and concrete material structures will be manufactured in factories and builders will only have to assemble them at the construction site, which will increase the construction speed. In-house Green Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) will be made in the hospitals with Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD), he had said.