Delhi PWD Flags ICU Door Scam; Stops Payments, Blacklists Firm

Learning from previous lapses, the Public Works Department (PWD) has averted a major scam involving the installation of fire-resistant doors in new ICU hospitals in Delhi. Officials discovered that a company contracted to install specialised doors in six hospitals had supplied poor-quality, non-fire-resistant doors. The department has blacklisted the firm for two years and withheld its payments. A police complaint has also been lodged, and a detailed inquiry has been ordered.

The Delhi government is building seven new ICU hospitals with a combined capacity of 6,836 beds. Work on six of these facilities, excluding the Kirari project, began during 2020-21 and is now in the final stages. As per tender conditions, non-insulated metal fire-resistant doors were required to ensure patient safety. The contractor had supplied doors for hospitals in Shalimar Bagh, Sultanpuri, Guru Teg Bahadur, Sarita Vihar, and Raghuvir Nagar.

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However, inspections revealed the doors were neither fire-resistant nor of acceptable quality. Mandatory quality-assurance stickers were missing, allegedly to conceal the substandard material. Officials confirmed that the agency violated tender conditions and attempted fraud.

The hospital project was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the then AAP government promising completion within six months. Five years on, the hospitals remain unfinished. The project has faced controversy since the beginning, particularly because the officer who awarded the contract retired on the same day the work order was issued. The matter is currently being probed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB).

After COVID, construction work slowed significantly. For the last two years, the previous government neither allocated funds nor finalised an operational model for these hospitals. Following the BJP’s ascent to power in Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that the facilities would function as dedicated ICU hospitals. Funds have since been released in the current budget, and work has gained pace.

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Locations of New ICU Hospitals

-Sarita Vihar: 336 beds

-Raghuvir Nagar: 1,565 beds

-Shalimar Bagh: 1,430 beds

-Sultanpuri: 525 beds

-Chacha Nehru: 610 beds

-Guru Teg Bahadur: 1,912 beds

-Kirari: 458-bed ICU hospital (construction yet to begin)