AAP government in Delhi: Hits, misses, works in progress
The AAP has shored up its work on delivering high-quality, affordable citizen services, such as power, water and health care
On February 11, 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stormed back to power in Delhi, winning 62 of 70 seats in the state assembly. Before the elections, Arvind Kejriwal announced 10 “guarantees” that his government would fulfil during its five-year term.
Three years on, the government’s efforts at ensuring these guarantees have delivered mixed results. The AAP has shored up its work on delivering high-quality, affordable citizen services, such as power, water and health care, even as it has tried, with limited success so far, to add fresh programmes to revitalise a Delhi resident’s quality of life. The state government, which has been longed in a long tussle with the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), has accused the Centre-appointed lieutenant governor of hindering its programmes and keeping several schemes from lifting off. However, LG VK Saxena has hit back and argued he has only exercised his powers as a constitutional authority in the state.
The AAP government in a statement on Wednesday said it is working fast on fulfilling the 10 guarantees, adding that it “has achieved many goals during its second term”.
“Immediate efforts are being made to clear the projects which are facing hurdles due to some reason. The government is confident that it will fulfil all its guarantees before the end of its tenure,” the statement said.
Electricity
The AAP government has continued its flagship programme of providing free electricity up to 200 units per month to each household, an initiative it first introduced in August 2019. Last year in September, the government announced that only those households that opt in for the scheme will get subsidies, a key switch in the programme, removing default access for all homes in Delhi. Even then, around 4 million of 5.8 million households in Delhi signed up for the programme, the same number that availed subsidies earlier, a signal that the programme remains as popular as before.
The government also promised to shift all overhead electricity distribution wires underground, ridding Delhi of a common visual eyesore. However, little has happened on this front. Overhead cables were removed during the Chandni Chowk redevelopment drive, which finished in September 2021, though the rest of the city has been untouched by this plan.
In November 2021, the Delhi cabinet approved a plan to insulate 2,264 km of bare 11kV wires. There is no data on how many of these wires are overground, and it is unclear how far along the work has progressed.
“The process of laying underground cables is going on to get rid of open wires and high-tension wires. Underground cables have been laid in many areas. Work is in progress at some places and the tender process is on in some places and all exposed wires will be undergrounded in the coming few months,” the government said.
Water
The Delhi government provides free water up to 20,000 litres per month to households in the Capital, one of the earliest AAP government programmes, floated in 2015, weeks after it first came to power in Delhi.
Over the past three years, the state government has elevated its focus to delivering water around-the-clock across Delhi, a city where several parts still face dire shortages, especially in summer.
However, the Capital is impaired by a vast gulf between water demand and supply. Delhi needs around 1,300 million gallons of water a day [mgd], but receives only around 1,000mgd. To be sure, to bridge this gap, Delhi – which is dependent on other states for much of its water – will need its neighbours to be more lenient in their supply. Last month, Kejriwal even urged the Centre to increase Delhi’s water supply to allow residents 24x7 access.
Around 3% of Delhi is still not connected with piped water supply lines, said a government official. For those who are, problems of efficiency remain with patchy supply by the Delhi Jal Board, particularly in peak summer.
“Work is on at many levels to provide 24-hour clean water to all and increase water supply. Pipelines are being laid to supply clean water to every household. Tenders to lay pipes in some areas are ready,” said the government.
Education
For the AAP, education reform is a key backbone of its social welfare programmes. The government has prized its education model through its public schools, which it says provides “world-class” education.
The number of teachers in schools starting from pre-primary till senior secondary stood at 157,718 in 2019-20, while in 2020-21, it stood at 152,004, as per the 2021-22 economic survey.
The Desh ka Mentor programme was launched by Delhi government to provide guidance to students of class 9 to 12 of Delhi government schools for their overall development. Meanwhile, under the Business Blaster Project, around 300,000 students were provided with seed money of ₹2000 per student to come up with and implement a business idea.
The Delhi Board of Secondary Education (DBSE) was set up and the board has started functioning with 30 Delhi government schools.
However, the Opposition has alleged that Delhi government schools are in bad shape and that the state has overplayed its infrastructure-upgrade claims
The Delhi government said education up to class 12 is being provided free of cost. “Under the Merit-Cum-Means scheme, the students of Delhi are given exemption in college fees. The objective of the scheme is to make the socially and economically backward meritorious students of the state have access to high quality educational institutions in Delhi. Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana has been started by the Education Department of Delhi government for the preparation of economically weak competitive examinations. Under this, financial assistance of one lakh rupees is provided for 12 months coaching to the students preparing for civil services. On the other hand, financial assistance of ₹50 thousand is provided for the entrance examination of other professional courses,” the government said in a statement.
Transportation
The government, three years ago, promised to add nearly 5000 buses to the city’s fleet, taking the popular transit service’s strength to 11,000. It has, so far, added only over 1100 buses between February 2020 and February 2023. Delhi now has 7,379 buses, over 3500 fewer than it ideally needs.
The party has made augmenting bus infrastructure a key pillar of its third term in power, though it has been hit by allegations of irregularities in procurement and probes are going on. Delhi government withdrew a tender floated in 2020 for procurement and maintenance of 1000 AC buses. A CBI inquiry is going into it.
The party has made augmenting bus infrastructure a key pillar of its third term in power, though the Delhi government’s plans to procure buses have been hit by allegations of irregularities levelled by the BJP. Delhi government withdrew a tender floated in 2020 for procurement and maintenance of 1000 AC buses. A CBI inquiry is going into it.
The government has also inducted 300 electric buses, as part of the new additions. Officials have said that 1,500 more electric buses are set to join the state-owned fleet by December this year, as the state works to phase out fossil-fuel powered vehicles from its fleet.
The government had announced as part of its “guarantee” that it will give free bus rides to all students, but the promise is yet to take off. A state government official assured that work on this front is “underway”.
“The government is seriously working on providing last-mile connectivity of transport. For this, work is going on many schemes, which will be visible on the ground in the coming days. The government has decided to continue the facility of free travel in buses for women. Also, work is underway on a plan to provide free travel facilities to students in buses,” the government said.
Pollution
Delhi has, for years, been beset by toxic pollution levels in the air and water. To some degree, the blame for air pollution lies with other states, especially in winter. However, Kejriwal has promised that the state will clean up its air, a guarantee that his party is now in a better position to fulfil after coming to power in upwind Punjab last year.
However, there has been no perceptible improvement in the city’s air pollution levels. During the post-monsoon and winter months, between September and January, Delhi was plunged into a noxious cycle of hazardous air. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) classifies an AQI between 301 and 400 as “very poor” and above 401 as “severe”. At these levels, the air is toxic even for healthy people and will likely leave long-lasting impacts.
The government had promised to clean the Yamuna, and in November 2021, Kejriwal unveiled a six-point plan to clean up the river by February 2025. However, several studies have showed that water in the Yamuna is still largely toxic and unfit for use, even as the river is layered in froth every winter, a sign that experts have said is indicative of severely high effluent levels.
The AAP government had also promised to plant 20 million saplings in five years to enhance greenery in the Capital. This promise is on track to be fulfilled – in 2020-21, the government planted 300,000 saplings, in 2021-22 the government planted 3.5 million saplings, and in 2022-23 so far, the government has planned to plant 3.5 million saplings, according to environment minister Gopal Rai.
“Work on several projects is on to treat the sewage coming out of Delhi… Arrangements are being made so that the dirty water coming out of Delhi should not fall even a little in the Yamuna,” the government said.
Health care
The delivery of affordable, quality health care is one of the AAP government’s key social welfare prongs, including at its own hospitals and mohalla clinics.
The government in a statement said that it has “opened 46 hospitals, 13 polyclinics, 4 Mahila Mohalla clinics and 521 new Mohalla clinics”, though it did not mention over what period this has happened. “From this January, the Delhi government has made available the facility of 450 types of free tests in Mohalla clinics. Earlier there were 212 types of tests,” the government said.
A state health department official said that more than 16,000 new beds will be added in Delhi government-run hospitals. Though the government claims its hospitals provide world-class healthcare, the opposition claims that the hospitals are not up to the mark in quality of service.
Bidhuri said the AAP government has failed to provide enough beds in hospitals for the people and most of the hospitals are overburdened and in bad condition. “The AAP government has failed to open a single hospital, school or college despite being in power for over 8 years,” he said.
Delhi has 88 hospitals, 1,573 dispensaries and over 500 mohalla clinics.
No information was available on the consolidated vacancies in all Delhi government hospitals.
Cleanliness
Having snatched power in the civic body in the December 2022 municipal polls, the state will aim to drive its aim of a cleaner Delhi, free of dumps and landfills. A Delhi assembly panel visited Pune and Hyderabad recently to study waste management models. Even though over two months have passed since the MCD polls results were declared, the Capital is yet to get a mayor after repeated disruptions in the House.
“A roadmap has been prepared and will be implemented by the AAP-ruled MCD at the earliest. AAP councillors have taken it upon themselves to get their wards cleaned. A plan is also being prepared to eliminate the garbage piles within the city,” the statement.
Safety
The plan to deploy mohalla marshals in neighbourhoods to enhance women’s security is still a pipe-dream, and no work has started towards this. A revenue department official, who did not want to be named, said no move has been made towards it so far.
CCTVs have been installed in buses, and all the new buses which are joining the public fleet have security cameras installed by default.
“Street lights have been installed in every corner of Delhi, and the remaining dark spots are also getting identified and the lights are being installed. Bus marshals have been appointed to provide security to women in buses. The government proposes to appoint ‘Mohalla Marshalls’ to further ensure the safety of women,” the government said.
Amenities
The Delhi government provides free sewer connection and motivates unwilling residents in unauthorised colonies to connect their houses to the sewer lines. The Delhi government has linked 1,583 unauthorised colonies with the regular water supply network and efforts have been made to cover the rest, said officials aware of the development.
An official said that Delhi has 1,799 unauthorised colonies which are estimated to have 1,618,080 houses. “Of these, around 340,720 houses have been connected to the sewer network while work is under progress for the remaining houses. Out of the 1,799 colonies, 747 colonies are connected to the sewer network,” the official added.
Roads in most unauthorised colonies, however, are in poor shape, with repairs few and far between.
“By the end of this year, about 60% of the unauthorised colonies will be connected to the sewer network and by next year all the colonies will be connected to the sewer network,” the government said.
Housing
The AAP government is yet to work on its guarantee to provide on-site rehabilitation to slum dwellers, who constitute a major vote bank for the party. There are close to 30,000 flats which have been constructed in Delhi under UPA-era schemes Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in the past few years. However, a majority of these flats are lying vacant.
An official said the Delhi government in April 2022 initiated the allotment process to 9,000-plus slum residents; it was put on hold after the Centre launched the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme in 2020. Under the ARHCs scheme, the flats (for which even the Centre has paid) have to be allotted to urban poor on rent. The Delhi government opposed the scheme, and said that these flats should be allotted on a freehold basis, especially in areas where the slum clusters are within a five-km radius of the housing complex.
“The government is working to provide a ‘pucca’ house to every slum dweller. Many people have already moved into their ‘pucca’ houses,” the government said.
What BJP says
Leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said the AAP was not accurately portraying its progress in fulfilling its “guarantees”.
“People are suffering from serious diseases due to dirty water. The electric buses running on the roads in Delhi have also been made available by the central government. Due to the non-availability of public transport, people are forced to use personal vehicles on the road, due to which congestion, jam, pollution, and accidents are increasing day by day. Delhi has become the most polluted capital of the world. Kejriwal had promised to install 16 smog towers but only two were installed and they are also not operational. Yamuna has become a dirty drain. The central government gave about ₹2500 crore for the cleaning of the Yamuna, but this amount was not spent on the Yamuna, as no account was given for this amount,” Bidhuri said.
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