'Assets will be legacy of progressive Delhi'

City gets Rs 18,000 crore for infrastructure projects. HT Correspondent reports.

Thanks to Commonwealth Games, Delhi is getting infrastructure worth a whopping Rs 18,000 crore.

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Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy said his department was spending this amount to create assets in the Capital that would become a legacy and would be "remembered for decades to come".

This is first time the Union government has given a number to the money being spent on Delhi for the preparations for the Games.

"We are often criticised that a lot of money has been wasted. The CWG is a big peg for big infrastructure projects, which are needed for Delhi anyway. All assets would remain a legacy of productive and progressive Delhi," Reddy said.

The central government has provided financial assistance to Delhi to buy 1,600 low-floor semi-luxury buses and sanctioned schemes for sewerage interceptors, renovation of Connaught Place and 13 big road and flyover projects.

The Union government has also invested Rs. 10,000 crore in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for creation of 190-km of Metro network by October this year.

"The Metro cannot run on just commuter fares. We at Government of India have been generous enough to provide huge swathes of land to allow the Metro to raise money through advertising," he said.

With the government eyeing to bid for Olympic Games 2020, Reddy said the Commonwealth Games were just a trial run for the Olympics.

The creation of world-class sports infrastructure had to be made even without the Games, he added. "We have to look at long-term infrastructure gains."