“Not even a brick was laid” at the site of a temporary hospital the Delhi government had announced to have set up during the second wave of COVID-19 in north Delhi’s Kirari, the BJP said following a visit to the location on Wednesday.
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A delegation, led by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta and North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, said it came across only “a barren plot” and a board at the location, which, “according to Delhi government’s files, was supposed to house a 458-bed hospital operational since June 28, 2020.
‘Hospital functional in files’
“During the COVID period, the DDA, on being asked by the Centre, gave this plot to the Kejriwal government for a hospital. The State government talked about setting up a 458-bed hospital, which, in its files, was ready on June 28, 2020,” Mr. Gupta said.
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“In the name of building a hospital, [Chief Minister Arvind] Kejriwal has cheated Delhiites. It is surprising that ₹27 crore was spent on its advertisement alone,” he said.
Mr. Tiwari said the Delhi government had claimed to have treated 600 patients at the facility, which does not seem to exist.
When reached for a comment, AAP spokesperson did not respond.
Mr. Tiwari had, in October 2021, alleged corruption to the tune of ₹1,256 crore in the award of a contract for setting up seven temporary hospitals to treat COVID patients in the Capital. L-G V.K. Saxena recently granted permission to the Anti-Corruption Branch to probe the allegations under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.