NEW DELHI: The AAP government's schemes for free ride for women in DTC buses and free electricity up to 200 units for Delhiites will continue for the next five years if the party returns to power, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.
He made the announcement at a function held here to lay the foundation of a 1,164-bed super-specialty hospital that will come up in Siraspur on G T Karnal Road.
"All other parties keep criticising me that I give everything free to people. They say the government will run into losses. Now we have also made DTC bus rides free for women. The opposition party criticised us for this," Kejriwal said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo said his government "spent Rs 140 crore to make DTC bus rides free for women, while the chief minister of Gujarat has just bought a Rs 190-crore aircraft for his personal use".
"I did not buy an airplane for myself. I waived the bus fare for our sisters. We have given free facilities to the people by saving on extravagant spending. We are providing 24 hours free electricity. Electricity bill of most people are coming out nil," he claimed.
"Each MP gets four thousand units of electricity free but when the poor get 200 units of electricity free, then these 'netas' have a problem," he said.
"The opposition is saying that all these schemes will stop after the election. Today I am announcing that when our government returns to power, the free services will all continue even for the next five years. You will get 200 units of electricity free for the next five years," Kejriwal said.
On the new facility to be built, Kejriwal claimed, "land was acquired to build a hospital in Siraspur 35 years ago.
Governments of all parties came and went but all of them cheated the people".
Today the AAP government is going to build a modern super-speciality hospital with a capacity of 2,700 beds in two phases, he said.
"In the first phase, a hospital of 1,164 beds will be built. After this 1,500 more beds will be added. This hospital will be of 2,700 beds. For this, the government has released Rs 487 crore. Hospital construction will begin in January. The hospital will be built in 36 months. I will come after 36 months and inaugurate the hospital," he said, exuding confidence ahead of the polls due early next year.
Simultaneously, the work on a 650-bed hospital is going to start in Madipur area for which funds have been sanctioned, Kejriwal added.
"We have done a lot of work in the last five years. We are working 24 hours a day. The vehicle of development in Delhi had come to a halt. In the last 70 years, the governments of the other parties did nothing," he claimed, adding, "now we are driving the development of Delhi at full speed. Now we cannot afford to hit the brakes".
PWD's chief engineer P K Vats said the hospital will have two basement levels and 11 storeys from the ground.
"It will be spread over 92,286 sqm and it will be a green building. It will have a solar power generating capacity of 20 kw. There will be two diesel generator sets on standby in case of power failure. This hospital will be fully air-conditioned," he said.
"It will have 26 elevators. Rainwater harvesting systems will be installed to conserve water. 950 KLD sewerage treatment plant will be set up there. There will be 24 operation theatres and 18 ICUs," he said.
"The hospital will serve the people of northwest and north Delhi. It will also prove useful for providing emergency care for victims of accidents on GT Karnal Road. The estimated time for completion is 36 months," he said.