The inaugural budget of the Arvind Kejriwal government after the Aam Aadmi Party's second consecutive landslide victory in the national capital reserved the highest allocation of Rs 15,815 crore for the education, with the health sector getting the second biggest allocation of Rs 7,704 crore.
With the shadow of coronavirus looming large, the budget included an initial allocation of Rs 50 crore for the measures that need to be taken to deal with the pandemic.
True to expectation, the Rs 65,000 crore budget presented in the Assembly by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday—which is 18.6 per cent higher than the previous year—laid special emphasis on the AAP government's flagship initiatives in the areas of education, health, electricity and water supply.
“This government has fulfilled many of its election promises and has established an efficient model of governance. Today, this model has been recognised as Kejriwal Model of Governance across the country. People not only from the country but also from all over the world have come to see and understand this model in the last five years,” Sisodia said.
The Rs 15,815 crore was allocated for the education sector, which is 24.33 per cent of the total budget. An allocation of Rs 7,704 crore has been made for the health sector, which is 12 per cent of the total budget. It was pointed out by Delhi government functionaries that this is the sixth consecutive budget of the AAP government with the highest allocation for education and second highest for health.
Sisodia announced that the subsidy-driven scheme of free electricity up to 200 units, seen as one of the election-winning initiatives of the AAP government, will continue. Rs 2,820 crore has been earmarked as subsidy to allow for the scheme to continue.
A budget of Rs 3,724 crore has been allocated for implementation of the plans and projects of the Delhi Jal Board, and Rs 467 crore has been set aside for the water subsidy scheme under which 20,000 litres of water is being provided free to six lakh beneficiaries every month.
Sisodia said the government will run a campaign for communal harmony across the city, which is necessary after the violence in Northeast Delhi.
It was also announced that free bus rides for women will continue. A new scheme 'Behavioural Change for Safety of the Women' has been proposed with an outlay of Rs 20 crore in the coming fiscal with the aim of bringing about a change in behaviour in the society.
The government also proposes to increase the number of free Wi-Fi hotspots from 2,000 at present to 11,000 in the coming financial year.
The Delhi government will implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana in the coming fiscal to provide health insurance cover up to Rs 5 lakh per family every year. The Kejriwal government had resisted implementing the scheme in Delhi, and it was a major talking point for the BJP in the recent Assembly elections.
The budget session, held amid the serious concern over the spread of coronavirus and even as a complete lockdown has been clamped on Delhi to prevent the spread of the viral infection, was cut short to just one day. It was initially scheduled to be held from March 23 to 27. The Budget was passed within three hours of Sisodia presenting it at 2 pm, when the Assembly convened.
