Taking some time out of juggling four key portfolios — PWD, health, power, urban development and home — the senior Aam Aadmi Party leader speaks at length on how his government plans to fulfil its unfinished agendas before the poll ball gets rolling in the national capital. He claims that the ‘Odd-Even’ plan is yielding desired results
You were recently denied clearance by the Ministry of External Affairs from flying to Denmark to attend the mega C40 summit on climate change. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was supposed to lead the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation to the event.
Why is your party turning it into an agenda for the elections?
Let me put it this way. Had we been allowed to represent India at the global event, we would have made the nation proud. For us, country comes first, party later. We acknowledge that the Centre had every right to deny us the visit.
However, I want to tell the BJP that their argument that the visit wasn’t cleared as it was a mayoral summit is fallacious. The BJP ought to have known that like many cities across the globe, the mayor is equivalent to the chief minister in India.
You government has claimed a 25 % reduction in air pollution in the national capital over the last four years. What role did the PWD and power department play in bringing down the pollution levels?
Round-the-clock electricity supply contributed in a huge way in reducing air pollution. Earlier, lakhs of diesel generators, which drive air pollution, were used in the city in the absence of uninterrupted power supply.
Big markets, as well as owners of small shops, had to fall back on diesel generators for power back-up. Now, we’ve put an end to it.
Secondly, strict vigilance on construction sites and the blanket ban on the burning of waste and dry leaves in the open has also helped in bringing down pollution levels.
So, are you saying there are no power cuts in Delhi anymore?
Only planned power cuts happen. See, in Delhi, there are unauthorised colonies where we’ve been facing problems installing power transformers. These are areas that have seen sudden and unplanned surge in settlements.
Hence, there are local issues coming in the way of installation of transformers. However, there are no issues with regard to availability of electricity.
Before coming to power, the AAP had promised compensation to residents in the event of power cuts. What is the progress on that front, as your term is nearing its end?
We were ready and willing to provide compensation, but the high court stopped us.
How many mohalla clinics do you think will be ready by the end of this year?
By our estimate, 300 mohalla clinics are functioning in Delhi. This is a record in itself. Let alone India, in no other country or city has the government or administration opened 300 primary healthcare centres within a span of 5 years. Our government stands alone in this regard.
We’re hoping to get 300 more clinics up and running at the earliest. However, land issues are proving to be a hurdle.
Delhi government doesn’t have control on matters pertaining to land and policing. Our opponents are claiming that they won’t let another inch of land be acquired for such clinics. But we are determined to open more such clinics going forward.
No new hospital has been built in your government’s current tenure. Why?
Our hospital expansion programme, the biggest the city has ever seen, is currently underway. We are already in the process of increasing the number of beds at government hospitals by 15,000.
Three thousand of them will be ready in a matter of months. Three new hospitals are under construction and five more are in the pipeline.
We’ve also decided to expand the minimum bed-strength at all existing government hospitals to 600. This is because many small hospitals, which have bed strength of between 100 and 200, don’t have the necessary infrastructure or facilities.
Patients mostly visit these hospitals in the event of an emergency and are often referred to other hospitals for lack of beds or necessary equipment. Hence, we are working on multiple fronts to enable government hospitals to cater to more patients.
Has there been any movement on your government’s promise of ‘pothole-free’ roads?
This project is going on at good pace. While potholes have been filled on many stretches, work on repairing rough patches will be completed by the end of this month. As for road digging by other agencies, they have been given separate timelines and instructions to get their job done on time.
The Supreme Court has sought a report on the ‘Odd-Even’ plan, which is currently in force in the city. It has sought to know why two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which are believed to be more polluting than private vehicles, have been exempted.
Private cars take up 80 per cent of road space in Delhi. The two major contributors to pollution here are vehicular emission and lack of road space.
If 50 per cent of cars go off the roads, 40 per cent of our road space would be freed of vehicular traffic. This would also mean less congestion and fewer traffic jams, and, by extension, less pollution. Traffic movement in the city is also a lot smoother when the ‘Odd-Even’ plan is in force.
People have been asking me why we’re not making it a permanent arrangement. Less than two people, on an average, travel in private cars plying on our roads. No more than two persons, on an average, use motorcycles. They account for only 10 per cent of our road space.
When the ‘Odd-Even’ was introduced in 2016, your government had promised many more measures such as setting up a mist fountain, implementing a car-free day and installing big air purifiers to build on the vehicle rationing plan. What happened to those plans?
The ‘Odd-Even’ plan is yielding the desired results. I dare any other government to ask private vehicle owners to leave their vehicles at home and take public transport.
Former Union Minister Vijay Goel willfully broke the ‘Odd-Even’ rule and was fined for it. Your reaction?
His form of protest was bizarre. What we are doing is trying to reduce pollution. They (BJP) are in power in Haryana and at the Centre but want us to stop stubble burning. How can we? We don’t have jurisdiction to stop stubble burning in states where we’re not in power. Why aren’t they taking steps to stop this practice?
You are also working to expand the city’s CCTV network coverage and putting in place the promised Wi-Fi hotspots. The government also announced the ‘Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojana’ recently.
What is the progress on these projects?
Already, 75,000 CCTV cameras have been installed and by early next year, the number will go up to 1.5 lakh. With regard to the Wi-Fi hotspots, 11,000 locations have been identified and the tendering process will start soon. Within two months of installation, we’ll also start on-ground assessment.
How do you plan to make Delhi a solar powerhouse in the future?
The process of generating 100 MW of power through installation of rooftop solar panels is underway. We’re also working with our farmers to enable them to adopt solar power. Even housing societies are interested in installing rooftop solar panels.
The government had planned to set up 100 Aam Aadmi Canteens for providing quality meals for cheap. However, only one such canteen has been opened.
We’ll open more canteens. We have already scored 98 out of 100 (on governance). If people bring us back to power, we’ll aim for 100 out of 100. (Smiles)
Future plan: What’s on the agenda?
Expansion of government hospitals.
Increasing the number of beds at Babu Jagjeevan Ram Hospital from 100 to 800.
Increasing the number of beds at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital from 100 to 600.
Augmenting the number of beds at Narela Hospital from 200 to 800.