Delhi govt proposes Rs 69,000 crore Deshbhakti budget to mark 75th I-Day

The government says the budget of Rs 69,000 crore is proposed to be mainly financed from its own resources — Rs 43,000 crore from tax revenue, Rs 1,000 crore from non-tax revenue, Rs 325 crore as share in central taxes, Rs 9,285 crore from the small saving loan, Rs 1,000 crore capital receipts, Rs 6,000 crore as Goods and Services Tax compensation, Rs 2,088 crore received for centrally sponsored scheme, and Rs 657 crore as grant-in-aid.

The GSDP of Delhi at current prices has contracted by 3.92 per cent and by 5.68 per cent at constant prices during the year 2020-21 mainly due to the economic slowdown fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The per capita income of Delhi at the current price is Rs 3,54,004 during 2020-21 fiscal, which is 2.77 times higher than the national average of Rs 1,27,768.

The Delhi government says its per capita expenditure through budgetary transactions is likely to increase to Rs 33,173 in 2021-22 from Rs 19,218 in 2015-16.

An amount of Rs 45 crore has been proposed in the budget to decorate the city in tricolour hues at 500 places.

A new Sainik School and a Delhi Armed Forces Preparatory Academy will be set up in the national capital for students of government schools aspiring for National Defence Academy and army services.

A provision of Rs 25 crore has also been earmarked in the Deshbhakti Budget for providing yoga instructors to citizens on demand.

An amount of Rs 20 crore has been allotted for organising programmes on the life of great heroes of the freedom struggle like Shaheed Bhagat Singh and BR Ambedkar on the occasion of the 75th year of Independence.

A budget provision of Rs 9,934 crore has been proposed for the health sector, which is 14 per cent of the total budget for the year 2021-22.

As per provisions, the COVID-19 vaccine will be made available to the people of Delhi free of cost in government hospitals under the ‘Aam Aadmi Free Covid Vaccine’ scheme with a proposed budget of Rs 50 crore.

The Delhi government has allocated an amount of Rs 1,293 crore for the expansion of health-related infrastructure and redesigning of 19 existing hospitals. Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi Hospital at Dwarka will start functioning with a capacity of 1,241 beds from next year, while 100 ‘Mahila Mohalla Clinics’ will be started in different parts of Delhi.

In the 75th year of independence, the Delhi government has proposed to issue health card to every citizen of Delhi as well.

The education sector has been assigned a budget allocation of Rs 16,377 crore in 2021-22. As many as 100 Schools of Specialized Excellence from class IX to XII will be opened in different parts of Delhi.

The Delhi government has also decided to introduce a new category of schools: “Virtual Delhi Model Schools” on the principle of “anywhere living, anytime learning, anytime testing”.

As per the New Education Policy, it has proposed to introduce a four-year B.Ed course with focus on teacher training at the undergraduate level.

To strengthen the role of women in the economy, the government has planned a new scheme — Saheli Samanvay Kendra, under which 500 Anganwadi hubs will be set up in various parts of Delhi.

Another initiative, ‘Samriddhi’, with the special arrangement in the anganwadi hubs will be arranged for socio-economic empowerment of women and adolescent girls by giving required training and aiding in capacity building to start micro-economic units.

The government has also planned to set up 33 self-help units to make the women aware of government schemes and help them avail their benefits.

To tackle substance abuse in the city, an amount of Rs 7.20 crore has been allocated under a new scheme called Suryoday.

Besides, the government has proposed setting up a Rehabilitation Institute for Persons with Disabilities.

A budget provision of Rs 600 crore has been proposed for 20 kilolitres free water subsidy scheme, which is benefiting about six lakh beneficiaries every month.

The extension of Ashram Flyover to DND Flyover is scheduled to be completed by December 2021. The construction of two underpasses between Wazirabad and Azadpur and one pedestrian subway near Gandhi Vihar on Outer Ring Road, besides a bridge on the Najafgarh drain at Basaidarapur will be completed by May 2021.

The government has proposed five new projects — an integrated transit corridor between Punjabi Bagh flyover and Raja garden, integrated transit corridor between Jwala Heri Market Red Light and Jwalapuri Red Light, decongestion of Mukarba Chowk, Main Burari Road junction on Parallel Road and construction of ROB/RUB on the Railway crossing from Khera Kalan to Khera Khurd Road.

The government is building 1,397 bus queue shelters. Metro line from Mayur Vihar Pocket-I to Trilokpuri stretch is likely to be completed in March 2021 and extension to Dhansa Bus Stand is scheduled to be finished by September.

Two new schemes, ‘Delhi Heritage Promotion’ and ‘Delhi Tourism Circuit’, have been proposed in the 2021-22 Budget.

For real-time assessment, a system to monitor air, water and land pollution is being implemented in collaboration with IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur.