The Rekha Gupta government in the national capital tomorrow would complete three months in office, after she assumed charge on February 20 this year. In another 10 days, they would complete 100 days in the office, and generally 100 days is considered to be a good time for a government to register its preamble of policy and administration.
The Delhi assembly elections were fought in the background of disharmonious relationship between the state and the central government, which had brought administration and governance in the city to a standstill. The BJP during its campaign pitched for a double engine government, that is same party government at the Centre and in the state.
The idealogues and policy consultants within the BJP have made double engine to be the spearhead of their campaign in the state polls. The thinking behind the concept of double engine is that if the state and central government belongs to the same party,the state will develop much faster. To put it simply, if one engine government fails, second will take care of governance.
So a quick evaluation of the Rekha Gupta government would show on the positive side, first and foremost, the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme with an additional Rs 5 lakh insurance coverage for Delhi residents. Gupta’s government next announced the establishment of ‘CM Shri’ schools, aligned with the National Education Policy, and allocated Rs 100 crore for their development.
Now the two aforementioned programmes belong to the front engine that is the Centre, of the double engine governance model. Its important to know in these 100 days what is the programme that the state engine has implemented. The instant answer to this would be the immediateannouncement of ‘Mahila Samridhi Yojana’, offering Rs 2,500 per month to women, with a total allocation of Rs 5,100 crore. Additionally, 100 ‘Atal Canteens’ were planned to ensure food security for the poor.
Though its another matter that the notification and implementation of both these projects are yet to take place and the first instalment of pension was still to find its way into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The Atal Canteen too were still to raise their shutters.
Another major policy which new government could count as its achievement is the allocation of Rs 28,000 crore for capital expenditure, emphasising smart expressways and congestion-free corridors. The Delhi Jal Board received Rs 9,000 crore to enhance water supply and sanitation, including GPS tracking for water tankers to combat corruption. Additionally, Rs 500 crore was earmarked for cleaning the Yamuna River, with plans to construct 40 decentralised sewage treatment plants.
However, as the saying goes the taste of the pudding is in eating, meaning the real value of something can be judged only from practical experience or results and not from appearance or theory. The true impact of Delhi government’s policies will depend on their implementation and the resolution of existing challenges. The Rekha Gupta government faced a setback when the special session of the state assembly convened to introduce and pass Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. was postponed.
This Bill was passed by her cabinet in the backdrop of the major controversy regarding unprecedented hike in the students’ fees in the private schools in the national Capital. The HC too had taken cognizance of the matter and it was expected that with the passage of the Bill, the 52-year-old outdated regulation governing private schools would have been updated.
While no official reason was given for postponement, in the corridors of power it was heard in hushed tones that it was postponed at the behest of the Centre to facilitate the victory march by the citizens following the successful execution of Operation Sindoor. If true, this was quite preposterous as the state government should contribute to the centre’s plans and policies but should not put its policies on hold to accommodate centre’s programmes.
The Gupta government has to plan and execute their own policies and cannot remain dependent on the Centre. They cannot go back to people claiming credit for implementing Centre’s policies, it would be a case of political double jeopardy. In law, double jeopardy means a person, cannot be tried or punished for the same offense more than once. Similarly in politics two governments cannot take credit for implementing one policy.
Sidharth Mishra
Author and president, Centre for Reforms, Development & Justice