Delhi School Construction Scam: FIR Approved Against AAP Leaders Sisodia and Jain Amid Corruption Allegations

Delhi School Construction Scam: FIR Approved Against AAP Leaders Sisodia and Jain Amid Corruption Allegations

The issue gained traction when Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered a probe into Delhi’s classroom construction projects.

By RMN News Service

The political landscape of Delhi has been further embroiled in controversy as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted its approval for the prosecution of former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

This development follows allegations of a significant scam involving the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools during their tenures. The prosecution sanction paves the way for the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the two senior AAP leaders. The President of India has also reportedly given her approval for registering the FIR in connection with the alleged irregularities.

The allegations revolve around the construction of 12,748 rooms in government schools, with the total expenditure estimated at ₹2,892.65 crore. A delegation from the Delhi BJP had previously, in July 2019, accused the then AAP government of being involved in a “huge scam to the tune of over ₹2,000 crore” related to the inflated costs of constructing rooms and buildings in schools.

According to sources, the complaint alleges that school rooms and buildings were constructed at an exorbitant rate of ₹8,800 per square foot, whereas the lump sum cost as per the awarded tender was ₹24.86 lakh per room. It is further alleged that prices were inflated almost fivefold to defraud the public and taxpayers by siphoning off public funds under the guise of construction costs.

The issue gained traction when Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena ordered a probe into Delhi’s classroom construction projects, citing alleged gross financial irregularities carried out by AAP politicians and significant corruption in the construction projects. This order followed a delay of more than two years in the Vigilance Department’s action, which was initially advised by India’s top anti-corruption body, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

The CVC had conducted an audit of the project, concluding that 63 tenders were floated and awarded at ₹860.82 crore. The audit revealed a substantial deviation from the awarded amount, ranging from 17% to 90%, leading to a cost escalation of up to ₹326.25 crore. Furthermore, work amounting to ₹42.5 crore was reportedly executed without proper tendering through existing contracts of other schools, and the construction of 1,214 toilet blocks incurred an “extra expenditure of ₹37 crore”, among other discrepancies.

The prosecution sanction explicitly highlights the need for a thorough investigation into the roles of the then Minister of Education and Finance Manish Sisodia, and the Minister of Public Works Department Satyendar Jain. Sources quoting the sanction stated that “such a huge scam would have not been carried out without the ministers in charge of respective departments involved in the construction either being the chief conspirators themselves or without them finding something amiss when five times the normal construction cost is being charged for such a large number of school rooms/buildings”.

President Droupadi Murmu has also sanctioned an FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with a ₹1,300 crore scam related to the construction of classrooms in Delhi schools. The Delhi government’s vigilance directorate had flagged these irregularities in 2022, and the CVC had previously pointed out “glaring irregularities” in the construction of over 2,400 classrooms by the Public Works Department (PWD). 

The project was initiated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in 2015 with the aim of addressing the city’s classroom shortage. The PWD was tasked with constructing 2,405 classrooms across 193 schools; however, a subsequent survey projected a need for 7,180 equivalent classrooms in 194 schools, nearly three times the original requirement.

Responding to the development, Manish Sisodia issued a statement asserting that the AAP and its leaders “will not bow down before BJP”. He further stated, “It has come to my attention that the Union government has lodged an FIR against me and Satyendar Jain regarding the construction of school buildings and classrooms. I want to tell the BJP and the Union government — file as many cases as you want. Whether it is against me, Satyendar Jain, Atishi, Arvind Kejriwal, or any other AAP leader, we will not bow down before the BJP”.

The alleged scam stands in stark contrast to the claims often made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, who have frequently highlighted classroom construction as a major achievement of their government in the education sector. Despite these claims of progress in school infrastructure, reports suggest that education levels in Delhi schools have deteriorated. Critics argue that AAP politicians have used school construction projects as a means to praise their own performance, even as concerns mount over the quality of education.

Furthermore, allegations have surfaced suggesting that the focus on construction is driven by the “huge corruption opportunity” in such projects, rather than a genuine commitment to improving education. The AAP has even been accused of using a New York Times article on Delhi’s school education to bolster their image, with allegations that the article was an advertorial arranged by the party’s publicity department and that the author had a conflict of interest.

Concerns extend beyond alleged financial irregularities to the fundamental aspects of school education in Delhi. It has been suggested that there are no proper parameters to evaluate the impact of education and learning outcomes, leading to misleading claims about school education quality. Some reports even claim that teachers in Delhi government schools lack adequate knowledge of education standards and pedagogy, and that the poor foundational school education results in unemployable graduates despite holding higher education degrees.

Amidst these controversies, there have been calls for a transparent audit of school education in Delhi, encompassing parameters such as teacher-student ratio, classroom needs, syllabuses, teacher competence, school resources, learning outcomes, student employability, and a Return on Investment (RoI) analysis. The aim of such an audit would be to provide an empirical evaluation of the impact of education on students and to hold AAP leaders accountable for their claims regarding the quality of education.

The approval for the FIR against Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain marks a significant step in the investigation into the alleged school construction scam. As the case progresses, it is likely to further intensify the political discourse surrounding the state of education and governance in Delhi. The findings of the investigation will be crucial in determining the veracity of the corruption allegations and their implications for the Aam Aadmi Party and its leadership.