ED questions ex-Delhi minister Jain in Jal Board corruption case

Senior AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain was on Thursday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in sewage treatment projects under the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

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The 60-year-old AAP leader reached the ED office around 11:15 am where his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

This is the third money laundering case involving Jain. Earlier, he was arrested by the agency in 2022 in a disproportionate assets case and was recently named in another probe concerning alleged irregularities in classroom construction, alongside former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia.

According to official sources, the latest case involves suspected corruption in the Rs 1,943-crore augmentation of 10 sewage treatment plants at Pappankalan, Nilothi, Najafgarh, Keshopur, Coronation Pillar, Narela, Rohini and Kondli.

The agency had carried out searches in this case last July and is now examining Jain’s role in the approvals and financial flow related to the contracts.

The ED’s probe is based on an FIR by the Delhi Government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), which named Hyderabad-based Euroteck Environmental Pvt Ltd and others.

According to the ACB, tender conditions were made restrictive to favour a few players by mandating Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) technology. Only three joint ventures submitted bids for the four tenders floated, all of which were later awarded at allegedly inflated rates.

The ED said the initial estimated project cost of Rs 1,546 crore was revised to Rs 1,943 crore without proper documentation or fresh project reports. All winning JV firms eventually subcontracted the work to the same Hyderabad-based company, raising red flags.