AAP accuses Delhi Chief Secretary of favouring son’s AI firm for ILBS project

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has levelled allegations against Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, accusing him of being involved in a “hospital scam”. The allegations of the hospital scam comes after the AAP government accused the Chief Secretary of a Rs 850-crore land compensation scam linked to the Dwarka Expressway. 

According to AAP, Kumar’s son, Karan Chauhan’s company, MetaMix, was given a contract to develop AI software for the Delhi government’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) Hospital without a tender process. Vigilance Minister Atishi sent a detailed supplementary report to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. 

As per the report, the company was formed only eight months before the deal, and does not have the required experience to undertake such a contract. The company has been accused of making profits worth hundreds of crores from the project. 

The Chief Secretary has been accused of influencing resources and expertise of ILBS to be used to develop MetaMix’s technology free of cost. Kumar also got ILBS to play a role in the marketing and promotion of the technology. “All of this was achieved through signing of a MoU on a nomination basis with MetaMix,” the report stated.

As per sources, Kumar is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of ILBS Hospital. A Virtual Reality Lab was also inaugurated under the agreement. 

The MOU between MetaMix and ILBS Hospital was signed just 20 days after Naresh Kumar became Chief Secretary. The MOU involved 'conducting research and study work on simulation of various endoscopy procedures using Augmented Reality'. 

As per the agreement, the profits from any AI product developed through the research would be split equally between MetaMix and ILBS Hospital. The partnership is also projected to yield substantial annual profits for MetaMix that would leverage the database and expertise of ILBS. 

The report underscored that proper procedure was not followed in selecting the company for the project. It also raised questions over the direct selection and signing of the agreement. Atishi has recommended the termination of the deal between MetaMix and ILBS.

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