G20 summit approaches, Delhi govt shifts budget focus to urban renewal

Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot listed projects ranging from roads to flyovers and buses: including the upgradation and beautification of 1,400 km of the road network under the Delhi government’s Public Works Department as well as the footpaths adjacent to them; the construction of more than two dozen flyovers, including doubledecker ones to be built in coordination with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation; and the induction of 1,600 new zero-emission electric buses.

The Rs 78,800-crore budget provides for capital expenditure of more than Rs 21,000 crore.

In the past, the AAP government’s focus has been on making allocations for areas such as modern schools and education, mohalla clinics and power and water subsidies.

“This year’s budget is geared towards making Delhi a clean, beautiful and modern city. Till  now, we have invested in education, health and power and those investments will continue, but this year’s budget focuses on infrastructure. Delhi is our Capital. When people come here, they should feel that they have come to the Capital of a great nation,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after Gahlot presented the budget.

“Building upon the successes of the pilot project initiated to transform 16 road stretches in Delhi, the government has made a comprehensive plan for the upgradation and beautification of 1,400 km of roads under PWD, which are known as the identity of Delhi. I am happy to inform you that the upgradation and beautification of all these roads will be completed in the next financial year, 2023-24,” Gahlot said.

The plan to upgrade and beautify Delhi roads has a 10-year horizon with anticipated expenditure of Rs 19,466 crore. For the coming financial year, Gahlot said the government had proposed Rs 2,034 crore for the programme.

Initially scheduled to be tabled on Tuesday, the budget was delayed by a day after a key approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs was granted only on Tuesday afternoon. The Ministry had pointed to observations made by Delhi L-G VK Saxena, responses to which had not been made available by the government, and had sent a communication to the government, which claimed that the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary Finance had sat on the Ministry’s communication till the last minute, causing a delay in seeking a final go-ahead.

Long-pending bridges and flyovers — such as the third phase of  Barapullah Phase flyover from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar and the  flyover from Punjabi Bagh to Raja Garden — were also mentioned by Gahlot as part of the infrastructure push.

Twenty-six new flyovers, underpasses and bridge projects, with an outlay of Rs 772 crore, are in the pipeline for the coming financial year. Ten of these projects are under construction, the tendering process is on for five and 11 have been sent for design approval.

“When completed, these flyovers, underpasses and bridges will substantially shorten the daily commute of lakhs of residents and tourists in the national capital, while also easing traffic congestion and vehicular pollution,” Gahlot said. He claimed the government had saved Rs 536 crore in such ongoing projects.

The Delhi government is also in the process of  constructing three double-decker flyovers in collaboration with the DMRC at a cost of Rs 320 crore. These flyovers — Bhajanpura to Yamuna Vihar, Azadpur to Rani Jhansi intersections, and Saket to Pul Prahladpur — will see metro trains operating on the upper deck and vehicles on the lower level. In all, said Gahlot, a total of Rs 3,126 crore has been allocated to all the road and bridge projects.

Meanwhile, with the induction of 1,600 new zero-emission electric buses, including 100 feeder buses, and construction of two new bus terminals, the capital’s public transportation sector is expected to receive a significant push.

Gahlot said the development of three inter-state bus terminals (ISBTs) to the level of airports will be taken up first. These ISBTs will be called “Bus Ports” and will have commercial complexes aimed at employment generation.

Two multi-level bus depots will be developed at Hari Nagar and Vasant Vihar, where buses can be parked on up to six levels. Two “modern bus terminals” at Nehru Place and Najafgarh and nine new bus depots are expected to be completed in the next year.

“This will drastically expand the total capacity of buses that can run in Delhi. We will also construct 1,400 new and modern bus queue shelters across Delhi, providing a comfortable waiting area for commuters. (These will) display routes and arrival time of buses. In view of the G20 Summit being held in Delhi, we will complete this work in a phase-wise manner,” he said.

Last mile connectivity, too, he said, got a boost in the budget with a dedicated last-mile connectivity scheme — the ‘mohalla bus’ service. Gahlot said the service, scheduled to be started soon, will see small electric buses being deployed on specific routes. The plan is to start with 100 fully electric mohalla buses in the coming year, with 2,180 such buses hitting the streets over the next three years, he said.