Satyendar Jain Tells Rouse Avenue Court He Relied on Experts in DJB STP Case
Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain told the Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday that he relied entirely on technical experts for a Delhi Jal Board project to augment sewage treatment plants, denying any knowledge of the technical aspects of the tendering process.
Jain was produced before the court following his arrest on Tuesday by the Anti-Corruption Branch along with five others in connection with alleged irregularities in the tendering process for augmenting and upgrading Delhi Jal Board sewage treatment plants. The Anti-Corruption Branch sought 14 days of judicial custody for Jain and the other accused.
Presenting his arguments in court, Jain stated that the primary objective of the project was to clean the Yamuna. He explained that constructing new sewage treatment plants would have taken four to five years, prompting the government to augment existing facilities and raise their capacity by 1.5 to two times.
Jain submitted that the project was initially planned to treat 300 million gallons per day of water at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore per million gallons per day. The tender was subsequently divided into four packages, bringing the estimated combined bid value to approximately Rs 1,500 crore.
Addressing technical queries previously raised by the Enforcement Directorate on August 7, Jain maintained that as a minister overseeing eight portfolios, he was not involved in technical evaluations and had to depend on engineers and technical experts handling the work.
Jain also informed the court that he had ceased to be a minister after May 30 following his arrest in another case, and stated that he was in jail when the pre-bid meeting took place. He alleged that investigators were seeking to implicate a prominent name by alleging project cost inflation.
The case stems from an FIR registered on May 11, 2024, under Sections 7, 7A, 9, and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, alongside Indian Penal Code sections concerning cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy. A total of six people have been arrested in the case.
Following the arrest, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal posted on X questioning Union Home Minister Amit Shah and alleging that the Anti-Corruption Branch acted under pressure. Meanwhile, BJP MP Swati Maliwal targeted Kejriwal over the case, alleging corruption during his tenure.
