The BJP on Tuesday filed a formal complaint with the city police seeking registration of an FIR against officials and contractors involved in the construction of classrooms of Delhi government schools at rates “five times” higher than the usual cost.
The Delhi BJP had, on Monday, claimed that there was a ₹2,000-crore “scam” in the construction of classrooms by the ruling AAP government.
RTI reply
The complaint, filed by Delhi BJP media relations head Neelkant Bakshi and spokesperson Harish Khurana asked the New Delhi district police to book persons responsible for it whether they were Ministers, government officials or contractors.
Citing the RTI reply to Mr. Khurana’s query, raised with the Public Works Department (PWD) to the effect that the Delhi government spent as much as ₹24.86 lakh for the construction of one single classroom, Mr. Tiwari had claimed that the AAP government constructed 12,782 classrooms at a cost of ₹2,892 crore which could have been achieved by spending just ₹800 crore.
He had also demanded the resignation of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio.
Later, in reaction to an allegation to the effect that the situation was worse at BJP-ruled schools, Mr. Bakshi added, “Delhi government has got the classrooms constructed at the cost of ₹8,800/sq ft which is three times higher than the civic body’s rate. It is quite clear that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia have themselves committed such a big scam.”
Mr. Khurana, on his part, likened the “scam” to the “Commonwealth Games scam” and demanded that the role of as many as 34 contractors be investigated in relation to it.
“The contractors should also be interrogated in this case because substandard material has been used. It is obvious that the AAP leaders have benefited through the contractors and hence, this nexus should be exposed. Some rooms have started cracking just after the construction and contract for their repair will also be awarded which will also lead to corruption,” he alleged.