Delhiites are getting richer, buying more cars, and consuming more power than others in India. They find it easier to get around, and have better access to education and healthcare.
The Economic Survey of Delhi, released by Delhi’s planning department on Thursday, paints a rosy picture of economic indices. “The Capital has become economically vibrant with progress in all social and economic sectors,” Finance and Planning Minister AK Walia told Hindustan Times.
Delhi’s per capita income, at Rs 66,728 during 2006-07, is more than double the national average, having risen spectacularly from Rs 38,673 in 1999.
The Capital spends Rs 1,244 per person per annum on education — the national figure stands at just Rs 857. It has the health infrastructure and expenditure to back it. While the rest of the country spends Rs 260 per person annually on health, Delhi spends Rs 685.
In March 2007, Delhi had a whopping 52.32 lakh vehicles, more than Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai put together. Eighty-five out of every 1,000 people in the city owned a car, more than 10 times the national average of 8. Every third Delhiite owned a motorised vehicle, whether it was a car or a two-wheeler.
The growth in vehicles has far outstripped the growth in road-length. Delhi now has 30,923 km of roads, up from the tiny 8,380 km of 1970-71. While the road network has increased 3.7 times, vehicles have increased 24 times.
{{/usCountry}}The growth in vehicles has far outstripped the growth in road-length. Delhi now has 30,923 km of roads, up from the tiny 8,380 km of 1970-71. While the road network has increased 3.7 times, vehicles have increased 24 times.
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