Delhi Budget: Civic infra in unauthorised colonies to get ₹902cr push

Atishi compared the Delhi government’s work in unauthorised colonies to the life of Lord Ram —keeping in line with the overall Ram Rajya theme of the budget

Delhi finance minister Atishi on Monday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has worked to significantly improve infrastructure in the Capital’s nearly 1,800 unauthorised colonies — which host an estimated 4 million people — and added that the work to expand roads and drains in such localities will continue on a war footing.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and finance minister Atishi at Vidhan Sabha ahead of the Budget presentation on Monday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Tabling the annual budget estimates for 2024-25 in the Delhi assembly, Atishi compared the Delhi government’s work in unauthorised colonies to the life of Lord Ram —keeping in line with the overall Ram Rajya theme of the budget.

“The life of Lord Ram has taught us that we must think first about those who are the most neglected in society. There are approximately 1,800 unauthorised colonies in Delhi, which host 30% of Delhi’s population. There was a time when the attitude of governments towards the residents of unauthorised colonies was highly indifferent, and they were left to fend for themselves,” she said.

The minister said that under previous governments, these illegal colonies had no drinking water, no roads, no sewerage, and no drains. “In 2015, we prioritised providing the residents of these colonies with all facilities. We have built 5,175 km of roads in 1,355 such colonies. In the coming year, a provision of ₹902 crore has been made in the budget for the upliftment of unauthorised colonies,” she said.

The minister further stated that 99.6% of the city’s unauthorised colonies have been connected with water pipelines. “After 2014, the government has laid 2,422km of new water pipelines and 3,100km of new sewer pipelines. To ensure the right to water and sewerage facilities for every household in Delhi, a budget of ₹7,195 crore is proposed for the Delhi Jal Board in the fiscal year 2024-25,” she added.

Atishi said that the AAP government has transformed the lives of the people of these areas. “Now, women don’t have to stand in long queues for water tankers. People living in unauthorised colonies can now access basic amenities like roads, water, and sewerage. Women, who were confined to their homes for years, can now step out with the help of the pink ticket,” she said, referring to the AAP scheme launched in 2019 that allows women to travel for free on Delhi’s public buses.

“The elderly, who had been planning pilgrimages for decades, can now undertake free pilgrimages through the Chief Minister’s Tirth Yatra Yojana. Children from poor families receive excellent education, and every person has access to better healthcare,” she added.

Ranbir Singh Solanki, the president of the Madhu Vihar Colonies Welfare Association — covering over two dozen unauthorised colonies in southwest Delhi — said that there is no doubt that largescale construction work has taken place in these areas over the last five years, but the quality of the work remains questionable.

“In many cases the sewer lines and drains have been laid but there is no proper gradient or outfall which leads to choking of the entire network. The scale of the work is not under question but the quality should be ensured so that public money is not wasted. In many of our areas, roads and drains were laid down in 2018-19 and they are in terrible state now,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the budget outlay does not meet the ground reality.

“In budget after budget, the government keeps pumping funds into Delhi Jal Board with claims of laying water and sewerage pipelines, but the ground reality is that over 75% of unauthorised colonies still are dependent on water tankers and septic tanks,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.