The Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana, a scheme meant to fund free coaching at private institutes for underprivileged students during the Aam Aadmi Party government, is now at the centre of a political and financial controversy. 

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday ordered an Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) probe into an alleged Rs 145-crore scam linked to the scheme during the Covid period.

The announcement was made by Delhi’s Home and Education Minister Ashish Sood and SC/ST Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh while addressing a press conference, alleging large-scale irregularities under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

“The Jai Bhim scheme was started to help SC/ST/OBC/EWS/Minority students prepare for competitive exams like UPSC and NEET, but during the pandemic, it became a tool for embezzlement,” Mr Sood said. He added that coaching institutes prepared a bill payment of Rs 145 crore between July 2021 and August 2022-far beyond the scheme’s original budget of Rs 15 crore.

Out of 13,000 student claims submitted by coaching centres, only about 3,000 could be verified, Mr Sood said,