
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Delhi assembly polls, Congress on Wednesday accused the AAP government of committing a Rs 382 crore scam in the healthcare sector in Delhi and trying to hide the same, citing a Comptroller and Audit General (CAG) report.
Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken hit out at AAP chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and said, “A (former) chief minister who claimed to fight corruption and used to accuse the Congress based on CAG reports is now withholding the report from being presented in the Assembly,” he said.
Maken claimed that the AAP government failed to utilise 56% of the funds provided by the Centre during the pandemic. “The central government provided funds, but the AAP government failed to utilise them for the health and welfare of the people,” he said.
The Congress leader claimed that only three hospitals had been constructed in the last decade, the foundation stones of which were laid when the Congress government was in power.
He also said the three major hospital projects were delayed. Indira Gandhi Hospital was delayed by five years, Burari Hospital for six and Maulana Azad Dental Hospital for three, the Congress leader said.
“In Indira Gandhi Hospital, Rs 314 crore more was spent than the (amount mentioned in the) tender. Similarly, an additional Rs 41 crore was spent on Burari Hospital, and an additional Rs 26 crore was spent on Maulana Azad Dental Hospital,” Maken said.
He also alleged that the AAP government failed to increase the bed capacity of hospitals, which Kejriwal had promised during the pandemic. He further said that there were multiple hospitals which were operating on insufficient paramedicall staff, ranging from 21% to 34% to some hospitals.