NEW DELHI: The promise of providing the most basic of amenities, water and electricity, at cheaper prices has been at the core of the of ‘people-friendly governance’ tauted by the Aam Aadmi Party. While the opposition has termed these ‘welfare schemes’ as ‘freebies’, AAP’s emphasis on affordable power and water supply has twice tilted the poll verdict in their favour.
This year, the AAP-led city government has allocated over 10% of its total budget allocation for the water and power sector. A total of Rs 3,353 crore have been proposed for the power sector for FY 2024-25 while Rs 7,195 crore have been allocated for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), bringing the collective allocation for water and power to Rs 10,548 crore of the Rs 77,000 crore budget.
Finance minister Atishi, presenting the Budget in the Assembly, said there used to be eight hours of power cuts in Delhi before the AAP assumed command; blackouts were regular; electricity prices were soaring and a typical family had to cut down on other expenses to pay electricity bills.
In 2023-24, Delhi successfully met its peak power demand of 7,438 MW on August 22 without any load shedding, she said. “Today, the Kejriwal-led government is able to provide 24-hour electricity in Delhi, while offering the most affordable electricity in the country. More than 22 lakh families receive zero electricity bills,” she said.
As per the finance minister, there are 58.86 lakh domestic electricity consumers in Delhi presently, out of which 68.33% i.e. 40.22 lakh domestic electricity consumers are benefitting from the electricity subsidy of the AAP government.
“In 2023, around 3.41 crores zero electricity bills were issued to consumers. We will continue this subsidy scheme this year also,” she said.
Sharing budget allocations for water supply, also crucial to AAP’s welfare claims, the finance minister told the House that 62.5% of homes in Delhi, which is around 17 lakh families, receive water free of cost.
She said after the Kejriwal government came to power, a total of 9,34,000 homes in the national capital have received water supply for the first time. Presently, the water availability in Delhi has increased from 840 MGD (million gallons per day) to 1009 MGD.
“Water is not just a necessity, but a foundation of a dignified life. The Right to Water of a person cannot be determined by wealth or poverty. The Right to Water is the same for everyone,” Atishi said.
The minister said that, presently, 99.6% unauthorised colonies in Delhi have water connectivity. Towards ensuring sewer facilities, a total of 4,243 km of sewer lines are operational, and 1,031 unauthorised colonies are now connected to the sewer network, Atishi said.