Delhi LG suspends OSD of Health Minister over concessions to nursing home

New Delhi

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Wednesday approved a proposal by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to suspend Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj’s Special Assistant Director (OSD) for his alleged involvement in the “illegal registration” of a private nursing home in the city.

The minister reacted sharply to the order and stated that his office was now “empty” because the LG had removed “all advisers, colleagues and experts” from the office in a series of decisions.

The LG’s order came two days after RN Das, who previously served as medical superintendent of nursing homes, was accused of trying to approve a bid by the owner of Baby Care New Born Hospital in Vivek Vihar for more bed capacity in 2021. Seven newborns were killed in a fire at that hospital.

However, an official of the Raj Niwas said that the immediate reason for the officer’s suspension was “a reported misconduct related to unauthorised and illegal running of the Jyoti Nursing Home in Shahdara beyond the valid registration period when he was the Medical Superintendent of the nursing homes”.

The matter was taken up by the LG after the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) complained about it to the ACB.

The complaint stated that the DGHS had recommended the closure of the Shahdara Nursing Home due to a series of violations in 2014 and that the application for renewal of the license was still pending.

However, an investigation by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare found that Mr Das, as medical director of the nursing homes, was “solely responsible for the renewal of registration”.

In response, Mr Bharadwaj alleged that there had been “continuous efforts on the part of the LG” to frame charges against officials of his department on one pretext or the other. The minister added that no wrongdoing had taken place under his watch since he assumed office in 2023.