CAG report on health referred to PAC; ‘expose of widespread corruption’: CM

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday targeted the AAP over a CAG report on public health infrastructure and management of health services in the capital, calling it an “expose of widespread corruption”.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has been sent to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for review, and the findings are expected in three months.

Delhi Assembly witnessed high drama during Gupta’s address on Monday, as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jarnail Singh was marshalled out for disrupting the proceedings, prompting a walkout by all the AAP legislators. Accusing the previous AAP government of mismanaging Delhi’s healthcare system, Gupta said, “Every department under their government was in shambles and needed treatment. The ‘Mohalla Clinics’ became a den of corruption, with no doctors, no medicines, and no patients.

“Many positions in the health department remain vacant. They bought equipment at inflated prices, and much of it is still lying unused in storage.”

Alleging that the hospitals lacked essential staff, Gupta said 2,186 nursing positions remain unfilled and that expensive medical machines are gathering dust in warehouses instead of being used in ICUs and CCUs.

“Fake patients were recorded in the Mohalla Clinics, fraudulent medical tests were conducted, payments were manipulated, and many hospitals were shut down. There was a scam in hospital cleaning contracts as well,” Gupta claimed.

The CAG report on Delhi’s health sector from 2016-17 to 2021-22, which Gupta tabled in the assembly on February 28, highlighted multiple irregularities in public healthcare spending. “Several discrepancies were raised in the report. It has now been sent to the PAC, which will submit its findings within three months. Additionally, the Assembly Secretariat will forward the report to the health department, which must present an action taken note within a month,” the chief minister said. Criticising the AAP MLAs for staging a walkout, Gupta said, “They will be held accountable. They walked out because they know they have to answer tough questions, and they are afraid of doing so.”

She also took a swipe at senior AAP leader Atishi, saying, “She should not blindly support (Arvind) Kejriwal. Who knows where Kejriwal has disappeared?”

Expressing concern over the “internal turmoil” in AAP, she referred to the Swati Maliwal incident and said, “I hope nothing similar happens to Atishi.”

Once a trusted ally of Kejriwal, Maliwal has turned one of his most vocal critics in recent times. Their fallout began in May last year when Maliwal accused Bibhav Kumar, a close associate of Kejriwal, of physically assaulting her at the former chief minister’s residence.

In the Assembly, Gupta announced that the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, would be implemented in the next session, replacing the outdated Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act.

On BJP’s poll promise of providing Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance to women, Gupta said, “AAP should not question us as to when we will provide Rs 2,500 (to women). They left Delhi government’s accounts in shackles. While we will definitely fulfil our promise, AAP surely doesn’t deserve to question us on this.”

Apart from sending the CAG report to the PAC, Speaker Vijendra Gupta also directed the Delhi health department to present an action taken note after one month. “Many discrepancies were raised by the CAG in its report, which will be sent to the Public Accounts Committee. It will submit a report in three months. The Delhi Secretariat will also send the report to the health department immediately, which will present an action taken note after one month,” the speaker said.

After the chief minister’s address, the maiden session of the newly-elected eighth Delhi Assembly was adjourned sine die by the speaker.

In the assembly elections held on February 5, the BJP ended AAP’s decade-long rule in the capital where it returned to power after more than 26 years.

While the BJP secured 48 out of 70 seats, the AAP was reduced to 22 with the Congress drawing a blank.