New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday presented the BJP’s first budget in the capital in 28 years, unveiling a “historic” ₹1 lakh crore outlay focused on 10 key areas — including cleaning the Yamuna, enhancing women’s safety, and upgrading infrastructure.
Here are the top highlights:
- “Not just a budget” — Gupta described it as the first step toward rebuilding Delhi after what she called “10 years of ruin” under the AAP government. She accused previous administrations of damaging the city’s economic health “like termites.”
- Massive Outlay — The ₹1 lakh crore budget is a 31.5% increase over last year’s budget presented by AAP. It includes ₹28,000 crore for capital expenditure and ₹5,100 crore for the BJP’s flagship scheme of ₹2,500 monthly cash assistance for eligible women.
- Women’s Safety Initiatives — The government announced a ‘common pass’ for women to travel on public buses and plans to install 50,000 CCTV cameras across the city.
- Cleaning the Yamuna — A total of ₹1,250 crore has been allocated for Yamuna river cleanup. This includes ₹500 crore for setting up 40 decentralized sewage treatment plants, another ₹500 crore for repairs and upgrades, and ₹250 crore for replacing old sewer lines.
- Water and Sanitation — An additional ₹9,000 crore has been set aside for water filtration and sanitation projects to ensure clean drinking water for Delhiites.
- Focus on Infrastructure — The budget lays emphasis on improving city infrastructure, roads, and transportation systems.
- ‘Modern Gaushalas’ — ₹40 crore has been allocated for the development of modern cow shelters in Delhi.
- Political Undertones — The budget speech, which lasted 138 minutes, was delivered amid chants of “Modi, Modi” and jabs at former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged ‘sheeshmahal’ (luxurious bungalow) controversy.
- Capital Investment Push — The budget aims to boost growth and development through major capital investments across sectors.
- Promise of Transformation — Concluding her speech, Gupta called this budget a “turning point” for Delhi and pledged transformative changes in the city’s governance and development.
Plans for CM-SHRI schools, modeled after the PM-SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) institutions, were also announced. These schools, Rekha Gupta said, will align with the new National Education Policy (NEP) — which has sparked controversy over alleged Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu.
As part of the education revamp, the Delhi government will distribute laptops to 1,200 students. While the selection criteria remain unclear, ₹750 crore has been earmarked for this initiative.
In the healthcare sector, ₹6,874 crore has been allocated to strengthen infrastructure. This includes expanding the Ayushman Arogya Mandir initiative — aimed at providing preventive, curative, and rehabilitative care. Gupta added that along with the ₹5 lakh health cover under the Centre’s PM-JAY, the Delhi government will offer an additional ₹5 lakh top-up, with ₹2,144 crore set aside for this purpose.
The budget also includes ₹696 crore for the development of slum clusters and ₹100 crore to establish 100 Atal Canteens, offering subsidized meals to the underprivileged.
Addressing Delhi’s chronic air pollution problem, ₹300 crore has been allocated to combat the city’s worsening air quality — which often crosses hazardous levels during winter, due to factors like farm fires in neighboring states, vehicular emissions, and construction dust.
