The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Covid work at Lok Nayak Hospital: EX-PWD chief engineer to face probe
THE DELHI government’s Anticorruption Branch (ACB) has launched an investigation against former Chief Engineer (Health Zone) of the Public Works Department (PWD), A K Ahuja, for alleged irregularities and corruption in work at Lok Nayak Hospital during the Covid pandemic.
The irregularities have cost the exchequer Rs 200 crore, an FIR registered in the case alleged. Ahuja has since retired. According to sources, the ACB received a complaint that Ahuja and PWD officials cleared payments of 10 contractors even though they had not completed the work allotted, and presented fake bills.
Sources said that a contractor had filed a complaint regarding the alleged corrupt practices with the ACB. The branch then conducted a preliminary investigation and sought permission from the Lieutenant Governor (LG) office to initiate a detailed enquiry against Ahuja, other PWD officials involved and the companies that were given the contracts.
Ahuja said the allegations against him were false.
“I remained ADG, PWD, with additional charge of Chief Engineer Health between March 2020 and September 2020. The pandemic started in March 2020 and I got superannuated on September 30, 2020… I deny all allegations against me… We followed all norms, rules and regulations as laid down in CPWD work manual and exercised powers delegated to us by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India,” he said.
When the pandemic struck in 2020, PWD'S health division made additions and alterations in the hospital structure to carve out Covid wards besides making additions/alterations in the existing air-conditioning system for Covid patients. The division also took care of the electrical maintenance of the hospital.
In his statement to the ACB, the complainant alleged that he was allotted a work order, which was cancelled by Ahuja due to non-payment of Rs 10 lakh as bribe. “On perusal of documents, it is found that the said work was declared as emergent and the complainant was one of the parties who was eligible to get the contract but this work was not allotted to any firm or company by the PWD due to administrative reasons,” an official said.
During the pandemic, only emergent works were being allowed but probe revealed that the PWD official did not follow the rules mentioned in the CPWD manual, officials alleged.
Investigation has also revealed that a few contractors submitted purchase invoices issued 4-6 months after the completion of the work. “It is not possible that material for specific work would be purchased after the completion of work,” the official added.
Besides, officials said the investigation revealed that the companies that had purportedly generated bills were not operating from the addresses provided.
“The articles/equipment mentioned in the bills were actually not purchased at all, thereby causing loss to the Government exchequer... In many cases, some of the contractors have submitted the purchase invoice dated 6-7 months before the tender was even floated,” the official added.
Further, the ACB has also issued notice to the Medical Superintendent of LNJP, Suresh Kumar, who was the sanctioning authority of Emergent Work, for obtaining details of the entire sanctions for work awarded by him and requirement/origination of the emergent work in questions.
Kumar told The Indian Express that the work was handled by PWD. “Lok Nayak Hospital has nothing to do with PWD… A makeshift hospital was built in the Ramlila ground by PWD along the lines of the temporary hospital built by DRDO,” he said.