CM Arvind Kejriwal gives industry captains a to-do list

[related-post]

Although he was speaking at a much smaller hall in the Taj Palace, Kejriwal was clearly the popular choice with the room chock-a-block with people holding up cellphones to click pictures and videos of the Delhi Chief Minister.

He told industry leaders that he had brought a “list” of things that the CII can assist the Delhi government with. Inviting private players to step into Delhi’s transport sector that is currently facing a deadlock over the procurement of over 1,300 buses, Kejriwal said, “Our job is not to run buses. That should be thrown open to the private sector. The chief secretary is now preparing a proposal inviting private players to participate in Delhi’s transport system. Delhi can get 10,000-15,000 new buses then.”

He invited ideas from industry experts on a range of issues from water-recycling, pollution, cleaning the Yamuna, solid-waste management to WiFi connectivity.

“Fifty per cent of Delhi has no sewer connections, 20 per cent have no water supply. To lay a sewer pipleline, we need Rs 30,000 crore. Technology can play an important role in this. We won’t do it by creating big plants but small water-recycling plants on the roofs of residential clusters. If you have ideas on water-recycling or groundwater recharging, please come to us.”

He also said his government would issue global tenders if the industry would help them with identify best practices of solid waste management in the world.

When asked to rate the performance of the BJP government at the Centre, Kejriwal said in a democracy, the people should rate the government. He later said, “Delhi election results show how the performance of their government has been.”

On traffic congestion in Delhi and measures over women’s safety, Kejriwal said he will write to police commissioner B S Bassi on Wednesday and a solution will be found.

“The proposal for security marshals has been sanctioned and the marshals are currently being trained. In a month or two there will be marshals on all buses in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.