NEW DELHI: Existing welfare schemes, including free bus travel, will continue, BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari announced while releasing his party’s manifesto which promises wheat flour at Rs 2 per kg for poor household, electric scooty for girl students from Economically Weaker Section (EWS), and job guarantee to contract workers.
“An electric scooty will be given to girl child from poor families enrolling in colleges to encourage them to go for higher studies. We will deposit Rs 2 lakh in the of first two girls born in EWS families. They will get the benefit after attaining the age of 21,” Tiwari said.
Besides showering sops on EWS households, the ‘Sankalp Patra’ (pledge document) guarantees infrastructure development, Yamuna cleaning, employment, redevelopment of unauthorsied colonies, and special funds to make the city a hub of startups.
To mitigate air pollution, the BJP proposes to install equipment and towers for air purification across the city and also air cleansing systems on the rooftops of all public buses. “We are committed to provide a clean, corruption-free and transport government to the people of Delhi and we will take all steps in this regard. After ownership rights in unauthorised colonies, we will ensure their proper development for which we will constitute ‘Colonies Development Board’,” said Tiwari.
Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar, and Harsh Vardhan as well as all seven Delhi MPs were also present at the launch of the poll manifesto.
Gadkari said that long term systematic planning is required to resolve the issue of water and air pollution, which the BJP has done. “The aim is to change the future of the country, villages, poor, and farmers for which we have been working continuously. To run ‘bullet train’ of development in Delhi, there should be a BJP government in the city,” he said.
For traders and industry sector, the party assures to finish conversion of leasehold properties-- shops and offices-- to freehold at the earliest. The document says that the party will take all administrative and legal steps to address the issue of sealing and provide relief through suitable amendments in the Master Plan of Delhi.
Regarding infrastructure improvement, the manifesto announces a ‘Samriddh (comprehensive) Delhi Infrastructure Scheme’ with a provision of Rs 10,000 crore for construction of roads, flyovers, and foot over bridges. “We will revamp the DJB to improve its capacity and make it effective service provider. We will make efforts to ensure purity and quality of water in line with global benchmarks,” it said.
Metro expansion
As for public transport, it promises to expedite construction of Metro network and to add 10,000 green buses fitted with all modern facilities to the existing fleet.