Atishi interview: ‘Electricity subsidy scheme will be continued for anyone who wants to avail it’

For the Kejriwal government, education and health have always been the biggest priorities and my own work with Manish ji has been in the education sector so, definitely, education continues to be the biggest priority for me. With summer approaching, electricity is another priority. 24-hour electricity has been the hallmark of the government and so preparing for that is going to be extremely important to us.

Several changes have been made in the electricity subsidy in the recent past and more changes are being planned. Will it be only for a particular section?

No… The scheme continues to be for everybody and will be continued for anyone who wants to avail it. I remember growing up in this city with hours and hours of power cuts and steep electricity bills. So, a person who grew up in Delhi could never have imagined getting 24-hour electricity, free of cost. It has been done by the Kejriwal government and it is definitely something that will continue… As for voluntary-based subsidy, several people have themselves raised concerns so it’s their choice to opt for it or not.

There is a tussle between L-G and the elected government. How do you plan to work on it?

I think I will meet the L-G sometime, I will be calling on him… either today or tomorrow…We would like to have a good working relationship because both the L-G and I as an elected representative have the same constitutional mandate – to work for the people of Delhi. Synergy and working together is more important, more so in the context of the G-20 Summit.

The government recently wrote to the Centre seeking funds for G-20 preparation…

We have not received funds so far. If needed, I will take the matter up to the central government because G-20 is just not about one party or one government… it’s about the nation and how it is showcased to the entire world…

Is there a particular area you want to take up immediately, besides education?

Infrastructure will be a priority for me. I personally believe that one of the issues with infrastructure is that there is often a lot of focus on building infrastructure and less on maintaining it… It is the maintenance which decides whether you have a world class experience in the city or not. I will review the existing system for maintenance to ensure that both building of infrastructure as well as maintaining it gets equal priorities.

Several questions and allegations have been raised about anomalies in construction of schools and classrooms. What is your take on this?

First, the anomalies were raised by education minister Manish Sisodia and PWD minister Satyendar Jain… they were the ones who inspected schools under construction and told contractors that there should be no shortcomings… You can compare the quality of infrastructure of Delhi government schools with those anywhere in the country… There have been substantial changes in terms of face-lifting existing buildings and new classrooms… the number of classrooms has doubled.. There is a distinct difference between the quality of schools built under the previous government and those built by the Kejriwal government.

Several projects were proposed like shopping festivals, redevelopment of markets. What is their status and will it take off?

A lot of these projects required synergy between the Delhi government and MCD… Two different governments at the MCD and Delhi government was one of the major reasons why some of these projects could not take off… Now, the MCD is also under AAP. Hopefully, this should provide us with a headstart to take on these projects this year.

What are the focus areas in the education sector this year?

Expansion of Schools of Specialised Excellence is one priority…. Better synergy between primary and secondary schools will also be a priority as this has been a major challenge over the years as primary students from MCD who were admitted to class VI in Delhi government schools did not know how to read and write. So a major push will be made for synergy between the two authorities to improve the quality of education for children right from the time they enter school.

Do you plan to add more schools to the Delhi Board of Secondary Education?

Yes, we are looking to bring more schools under the Delhi board… We are open to private schools if they want to join… DBSE is still in the early stages so we want to tread carefully and expand it based on our capacity… The first board exams under the board will take place this year.