The budget session of the Delhi Assembly began on a stormy note as MLAs of the BJP and the AAP raised slogans against each other during Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s address to the house on Friday.
According to news agency PTI, the opposition BJP MLAs demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy as the LG began his address.
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had to order marshalling out three BJP MLAs to bring order to the house, PTI reported.
The LG’s address then commenced again.
VK Saxena said that Delhi students were performing well due to the Arvind Kejriwal-led government's focus on education.
Addressing the assembly, he added that education and health infrastructure was being upgraded in Delhi. New hospitals would add over 16,000 beds to the existing capacity.
38 multispeciality hospitals and 522 mohalla clinics have been set up in the national capital, he mentioned.
The Lieutenant Governor said that free electricity for up to 200 units was provided to residents and following that, there was a subsidy for units from 201 to 400.
Peak power demand in Delhi on June 29 was also met.
The electricity rate in Delhi is the lowest in comparison to the neighboring states, he added.
In transportation, 1,500 buses are being added to government transport. Women are being trained to drive light motor vehicles, Saxena mentioned.
He said that the AAP government was committed to the vision of a green and clean Delhi.
Extensive efforts are being made continuously to control air pollution. 40 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations have been established, he stated.
It was further highlighted that Mechanical road sweepers, water sprinklers, and anti-smog guns have been deployed all over Delhi to reduce dust pollution.
The Delhi government's efforts have been instrumental in improving the level of air pollution, the LG said.
As for the conservation of Yamuna River, 18 major drains falling into the river Yamuna have been covered in Interceptor Sewer Project and treated by arresting the flow of sub-drains falling under their command areas.
78% unauthorised colonies have also been connected to sewerage systems. The Wetland Authority of Delhi has completed the work of geo-tagging and mapping 1018 water bodies, Saxena said.
A special task force has been constituted to eliminate Single Use Plastic in mission mode and a comprehensive action plan has been prepared, he added.
Green cover has increased to 342 sq km, which covers 23.06% of the geographical area. So far 37.82 lakh and 6.70 lakh saplings have been planted, Saxena mentioned.
To tackle stubble burning, publicity campaigns have been launched, farmers have been mobilised, and are being taught techniques to manage stubble.
The 2023-24 budget of the AAP government, will be tabled in the assembly on March 21 and it will be preceded by an Outcome Budget of the government.
Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot will present his first budget in the assembly.
He was given charge of the department after the resignation of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case.