NEW DELHI: Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Friday appeared before the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) for questioning in connection with an alleged corruption case concerning the construction of classrooms in government schools.
Jain had been summoned by the ACB to appear for questioning.
Before heading to the ACB office, he maintained that the previous AAP government had prioritised education in the city, unlike the present BJP-led administration. “The previous AAP government in the national capital worked towards improving the city’s education, while the current BJP government is only doing politics,” Jain said.
The ACB had earlier summoned AAP leaders, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former PWD minister Satyendar Jain in connection with the case. Jain was asked to appear on June 6, and Sisodia has been summoned for June 9, according to officials.
In April, the ACB registered a case against AAP leaders, alleging corruption in the construction of classrooms at inflated costs. The agency claimed that a scam worth Rs 2,000 crore had been uncovered in the construction of 12,748 classrooms and buildings during the tenure of the AAP government.
The complaints were filed by Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana, BJP MLA Kapil Mishra, and Neelkanth Bakshi of the BJP’s media relations department. They alleged corruption in the construction of approximately 12,748 school classrooms at an expenditure of Rs 2,892 crore.
According to the ACB, the awarded tender cost for building a classroom was around Rs 24.86 lakh, while such a room could have been constructed for Rs 5 lakh. It was further alleged that the project was awarded to 34 contractors, many of whom are reportedly linked to the AAP.
Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB) Madhur Verma said, “It was decided in meetings of the expenditure finance committee for 2015-16 that the project would be completed by June 2016 at the sanctioned cost without any scope for future cost escalations. But not even a single work was completed within the prescribed time and significant cost escalations were observed.”