AAP’s Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain booked in construction scam case

The anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government on Wednesday filed a case against Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in connection with an alleged scam in the construction of schools and classrooms in the national capital, PTI reported.

The alleged scam pertains to the construction of 12,748 classrooms in Delhi government schools at a highly inflated cost of about Rs 2,892 crore, according to a report by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The complaint states that work was done at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square foot. “The lump sum cost for constructing a school room/building as per the tender awarded is Rs 24.8 lakh per room,” The Indian Express had quoted an unidentified person privy to the complaint’s contents as saying in March.

“According to the complaint, the prices have been inflated almost to the tune of five times to defraud the general public and the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer under the garb of construction cost,” the person had told the newspaper.

An audit by the Central Vigilance Commission found that 63 tenders were floated and awarded at Rs 860 crore. Deviations from the awarded amount “to the tune of 17% to 90%” were observed, resulting in “escalation of cost up to Rs 326.25 crore”.

Work amounting to...

Read more