AAP in a bad spot after ACB registers cases against Sisodia, Satyendar Jain

Trouble has mounted for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has registered a case against senior leaders and former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms at highly inflated costs.

Sisodia, who served as Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, also held the education portfolio while Jain was in charge of the Public Works Department (PWD), which oversaw the construction projects.

According to officials, the ACB uncovered irregularities amounting to Rs 2,000 crore related to the construction of 12,748 classrooms or school buildings during AAP’s tenure in Delhi. AAP lost the polls earlier this year after a decade in power when the voters of Delhi installed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party at the Centre.

The projects were reportedly completed at exorbitant costs and failed to meet stipulated deadlines. Contracts were awarded to 34 contractors, many of whom were reportedly linked to AAP, and both the consultant and architect were appointed without due process, the officials said.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had filed a complaint in 2019 alleging financial misconduct in the classroom construction project. He claimed that the government overspent Rs 28 lakh per classroom, even though a classroom could be built for just Rs 5 lakh.

Although the classrooms were built as Semi-Permanent Structures (SPS), designed to last 30 years, their construction costs were comparable to those of permanent buildings with a lifespan of 75 years. The cost of the SPS construction reportedly reached Rs 2,292 per sq ft, similar to the cost of concrete school buildings, estimated at ₹2,044 to ₹2,416 per sq ft.

The ACB also noted that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had flagged these irregularities in its report, which, however, was said to have been suppressed for three years.

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