The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) into alleged “irregularities and misconduct” in the construction of a new official residence for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Civil Lines area, reported PTI.
The latest development comes months after the Union Home Ministry asked the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) to conduct a special audit into the alleged irregularities and violations in the reconstruction of the official bungalow.
A PE is a statutory verification of allegations by the CBI, based on which a decision to file an FIR is taken. The CBI has registered the PE against unidentified public servants of the Delhi government, the officials said.
The anti-corruption branch of the CBI has demanded from the PWD records related to the approval and recommendation of its officials related to alteration, tender documents, bids submitted by contractors, approval of building plans and requests from the client for superior specifications like modular kitchen, marble flooring and other ornamental work, according to officials.
The ruling Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Delhi rejected the allegations and hit out at the BJP accusing it of “using all its power to finish AAP”.
“This is the reason why the country’s best health and education ministers Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia were put behind bars,” it alleged, “The BJP is using all its power to finish the AAP,” the party alleged. There is “only one party which is AAP that seeks votes on the basis of doing good work in the fields of health and education but, the BJP does not want the poor people should have good education and excellent health facilities,” it said.
Earlier, a report into the allegations of irregularities in the construction was prepared by the Chief Secretary, which alleged that mandatory sanction of building plans, as per applicable building bylaws, was not taken before work was started, reported The Indian Express.
The report had noted that the initial cost for construction work was between Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore but this was “inflated from time to time” to the extent of approximately Rs 53 crore. Among other violations, the report cited violations of the Master Plan of Delhi 2021.