Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena nod to ACB probe into tenders for 7 temporary hospitals

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor VK Saxena has granted permission to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe the allegations of irregularities in awarding tenders for the construction of seven temporary hospitals against the then engineer-in-chief and a chief engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD).
In a separate case, the LG has also initiated disciplinary proceedings against engineers of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) after he found that the construction of EWS flats at Kalkaji Extension was not up to the standard and still incomplete.
Sources said the ACB had sought permission to proceed in the matter of irregularities in construction of seven temporary hospitals by PWD in 2021, under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The matter, however, had been pending in the maze of “bureaucratic file movements and politicking”, sources said.
According to sources, tenders worth Rs 1,256 crore against an estimated amount of Rs 1,216 crore were awarded in a single day without obtaining the sanction from the Delhi government for the setting up of seven temporary hospitals in Shalimar Bagh, Kirari, Sultanpuri, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, GTB Hospital Complex, Sarita Vihar and Raghubir Nagar, “giving undue favour to a company”. With about 7,000 ICU beds, these hospitals were planned to prepare for the third wave of Covid-19.
Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari had also filed a criminal complaint in the cases on the basis of which the additional chief metropolitan magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey had directed ACB director to file the status report. There were allegations that three tenders were awarded at an increased cost, ignoring the market rate, and without holding any negotiations.
Sources, however, said the probe was delayed as questions were raised if the PWD engineers, who belonged to the Central Public Works Department, could be investigated by the state ACB.
“In line with his declared resolve of zero tolerance to corruption and total probity in government dealings, the LG has granted the long-pending permission to ACB to probe the allegations of irregularities in awarding tenders against the two senior PWD engineers,” said an official.
The LG has also directed the DDA vice-chairman to proceed against the officers concerned in a case of poor and delayed construction of EWS flats in Kalkaji Extension. Sources said the LG had visited the in situ rehabilitation site on June 11 and found that fixtures and fittings in the EWS flats were either missing or had not been installed.