The BJP-led government in Delhi is preparing to present its first budget in 26 years for the fiscal year 2025-26. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who also serves as the Finance Minister, is scheduled to unveil the budget today.
Before the budget presentation, Chief Minister Gupta will visit the Hanuman Temple located in Connaught Place, followed by a Cabinet meeting at the Delhi Secretariat. This is a shift from the previous practice under former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, where Cabinet meetings were held at the Assembly. After the Cabinet meeting, Gupta will head to the Vidhan Sabha to present the budget.
This budget session holds particular importance as it follows the recent Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regained power after 27 years.
On Monday, Chief Minister Gupta presented a report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) regarding the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in the Assembly. The report critiqued the operational inefficiencies and financial deficits that plagued the DTC under the former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration.
The CAG report assessed vital operational and financial aspects of DTC, indicating areas needing significant improvement. It evaluated fleet management, revenue generation, and the corporation’s compliance with public transport policies.
During the Assembly session, BJP MLA Harish Khurana criticized the previous AAP government, claiming it mismanaged the public transport system, leading to financial setbacks and a decrease in the DTC bus fleet. He noted that despite AAP’s promise of introducing 11,000 new buses between 2013 and 2015, the fleet size dropped from 4,344 buses in 2015 to 3,937.
Khurana further claimed that while DTC was profitable under former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, its losses soared to ₹8,498.33 crore during the AAP’s tenure, marking an increase of ₹5,000 crore. He highlighted a drop in DTC’s operating income from ₹914 crore when AAP assumed control to ₹558 crore, and pointed out potential financial misconduct, such as the allocation of 3.18 lakh square meters of DTC land to private cluster buses without collecting ₹225 crore in rents.
He also criticized the previous administration for its failure to procure new buses, despite having a budget of ₹223 crore for the Delhi Transport Department in 2022. Khurana attributed the provision of electric buses in Delhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mentioning that 1,770 CNG buses, which were well past their operational lifespan, had not been replaced by the AAP government.
The Delhi Legislative Assembly’s Budget Session began on Monday, and in a ceremonial gesture, Chief Minister Gupta prepared ‘Kheer’ as part of the proceedings. The session is vital for addressing key financial and policy matters, scheduled to run from March 24 to March 28, 2025, with the possibility of extension if necessary.
