"AAP has only done scams": Delhi Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh after CAG report on health infrastructure tabled in assembly

New Delhi [India], February 28 (ANI): Delhi's Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Friday accused the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of engaging in multiple scams.
Speaking to ANI, Singh stated that action would be taken against those found involved in these scams.
"They (AAP) have only done scams... Even when the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, they did scams. Action will be taken against those found involved in these scams," Pankaj Kumar Singh said.
The remarks came after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Delhi's health infrastructure was tabled in the Assembly on Friday, which highlighted significant shortcomings in Delhi's healthcare infrastructure, including staff shortages, inadequate facilities, and poor management of healthcare services.
The 2025 CAG Report on Performance Audit on 'Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services' (Report No. 3 of the year 2024) was placed in the Legislative Assembly of Delhi on February 28, 2025.
This audit aimed to assess the availability of health infrastructure, manpower, machinery, and equipment in health institutions, the adequacy of financial resources allocated, and the efficacy in managing health services in NCTD. This report contains audit findings pertaining to secondary and tertiary hospitals only.
The report, which covered the period from 2016-17 to 2021-22, found that there was a 21 per cent shortage of staff in the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
The report also highlighted that the shortage of specialists, including super-specialist doctors, was as high as 30 per cent. It further pointed out a lack of essential medicines, equipment, and consumables in hospitals.
Many hospitals lacked basic facilities, including dietary services and radiological diagnostic services, while the waiting time for major surgeries ranged from 2-3 months to 6-8 months.
The report also identified issues in healthcare management, such as delays in empanelment of drug testing laboratories, staff shortages in the Drugs Control Department, and a lack of accreditation for hospitals and laboratories.
Waiting times for major surgeries in the Surgery and Burn & Plastic Surgery Departments of LNH were recorded at 2-3 months and 6-8 months, respectively. At the same time, six out of 12 modular OTs in RGSSH and all seven modular OTs in JSSH were lying idle due to manpower shortages.
Many ambulances under the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) were found to be operating without essential equipment and devices.
While LNH experienced long waiting times for radiological diagnostic services, radiological equipment in other hospitals (JSSH, RGSSH, and CNBC) was underutilized due to manpower shortages. The report also noted that Atomic Energy Regulatory Board guidelines were not fully adhered to, posing safety concerns for staff and patients.
The Central Procurement Agency (CPA), responsible for procuring drugs and equipment for GNCTD hospitals, was not functioning optimally. Hospitals had to procure 33-47 per cent of essential drugs from local chemists to meet daily requirements from 2016-17 to 2021-22.
Out of 86 tenders floated by CPA for equipment procurement, only 24 (28 per cent) were successfully awarded. The audit also found instances of medicines being procured from blacklisted and debarred firms. There was also a shortage of injections for rare and fatal diseases like Haemophilia and Rabies.
The CAG report has raised concerns about Delhi's healthcare infrastructure's ability to meet the needs of its growing population. The findings underscore the urgent need for reforms to address these deficiencies. (ANI)