AAP alleges Rs 546 crore flyover scam by NDMC, BJP dismisses charge

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak on Saturday alleged a Rs 546-crore "scam" in the construction of a flyover by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The cost of construction for the flyover was fixed at Rs 175 crore but it went up to Rs 724 crore by the time it was completed, he claimed.

The Delhi BJP, however, rejected the allegation saying this is cost escalation due to the repeated delays in the construction work on account of court cases and other reasons and not a scam.

The Aam Aadmi Party is indulging in manipulative politics to malign the civic body, it said.

Speaking at a press conference, Pathak claimed that an audit report of the municipal corporation has exposed a "scam" of Rs 546 crore in the construction of the Rani Jhansi flyover.

The decision to construct this flyover was taken in 1995 and the construction was completed in 2018, he said.

"The tender processes and the cost of the flyover project were fixed at Rs 175 crore. But the flyover was completed at a cost of Rs 724 crore, which means that BJP leaders indulged in corruption of around Rs 546 crore in this project," the AAP leader alleged.

The Shastri Park flyover was constructed at a cost of Rs 250 crore against the estimated Rs 302 crore in just 1.5 years under the Arvind Kejriwal model, he added.

Pathak said the 54-page audit report lists 70 objections regarding the Rani Jhansi flyover project.

"Instead of acquiring the land for construction through a government agency, BJP leaders did personal dealings to indulge in corruption in the project. Around Rs 10 crore were spent without the approval of any official or agency for the extra expenditure," he charged.

Dismissing the AAP leader's allegations, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the two-decade delay escalated the cost of construction of the Rani Jhansi flyover from the planned Rs 175 crore to Rs 724 crore.

"Everybody knows that this flyover project repeatedly got stuck and delayed due to court cases, compensation claims and other humanitarian reasons," he said.

Kapoor said this is cost escalation due to reasons beyond the NDMC's control and not a scam. It will be better if Durgesh Pathak spoke on the basis of facts instead of "manipulations".