CAG Reports Tabled in Delhi Legislative Assembly Flag Major Irregularities in Delhi Government Hospitals, Excise Policy and CM Residence Renovation Work Under AAP Governance

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On Monday, March 23, 2026, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tabled a total of six Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports and three PAC reports in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. The reports highlighted severe financial mismanagement and poor departmental performance in various sectors under the previous AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) governance. The documents presented audits conducted between 2020 and 2023. 

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Currently, the Budget Session (officially the Second Part of the Fourth Session of the Eighth Legislative Assembly) is taking place in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. This short, three-day session is running from March 23, 2026, to March 25, 2026, with the primary agenda being the presentation of the 2026-27 Delhi budget.

A Performance Audit report stated that renovation costs for the Delhi CM Residence (6 Flagstaff Road, New Delhi) hit a staggering ₹33.66 crore. The figure was 342% more than the original ₹7.91 crore estimate. The report highlighted severe financial mismanagement, noting that over ₹18 crore was spent on luxury items, and that the Public Works Department (PWD) broke established rules by officially approving the funds months after the construction was already finished.

A PAC review presented by PAC chairperson and BJP MLA Ajay Mahawar flagged serious irregularities in the implementation and execution of the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-2022. The review was based on the findings of a previous CAG report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on February 25, 2022, that reported financial losses estimated at ₹2,026 crore. 

Mahawar also stated that the state suffered a massive loss of ₹890.15 crore because the excise department failed to initiate a re-tendering process after 19 zonal retail licenses were surrendered before the policy expired in August 2022. He also highlighted another loss of about ₹144 crore due to irregular license fee waivers granted to liquor vendors. 

Another Performance Audit report presented major irregularities in the public healthcare sector. The CAG report stated that the Central Procurement Agency (CPA) consistently failed to maintain an adequate supply of essential drugs. This systemic failure forced government hospitals to procure between 33% and 47% of their required medicines directly from local retail chemists, significantly driving up operational costs and delaying critical patient care.

The CAG also noted that more than ₹510 crore granted under the National Health Mission remained unspent in bank accounts, even as basic medical infrastructure suffered. Furthermore, the report highlighted that the public health sector was battling an overall operational staff deficit of 21%. This led to government doctors forced to attend to an average of 87 patients per day. 

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Beyond housing and healthcare, the audit reports cast a spotlight on critical utility mismanagement. A separate performance audit of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) indicated a widespread failure to meet institutional targets for expanding the raw water and sewage treatment networks, a primary factor exacerbating the capital's ongoing water scarcity.

(Rh)

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