Delhi Budget 2024-25: Rs 76,000 cr, Women's Scheme

New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) Inspired by the vision of 'Ram Rajya', the Delhi government Monday presented a Rs 76,000-crore budget, announcing a new scheme for women under which eligible non-income tax payees above 18 years will get Rs 1,000 every month.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described the decision as the world's biggest step towards women empowerment, which is expected to benefit 45-50 lakh women.

Presenting the 2024-25 budget in the Delhi Assembly ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Atishi allocated Rs 900 crore for the development of roads in villages.

The AAP government also made a provision of Rs 902 crore for the uplift of 1,800 unauthorised colonies, accommodating 30 per cent of the city's population, the minister said.

Addressing a press conference after the presentation of the budget, Kejriwal said it takes care of every sector, asserting that the AAP government is inspired by the vision of 'Ram Rajya'.

However, the overall budget for the financial year 2024-25 has witnessed nearly a 3.7 per cent reduction compared to Rs 78,800 crore allocated in the preceding fiscal.

The allocation for the health and education sectors was also reduced in the budget.

However, education has received the highest allocation of 22 per cent of the overall budget, followed by housing and urban development (13 per cent), health (11 per cent) and transport (10 per cent).

The government allocated Rs 16,396 crore for education against Rs 16,575 crore in the previous budget.

Similarly, the health sector's outlay of Rs 8,685 crore is less than Rs 9,742 earmarked in the previous budget.

"We do not get a single penny out of the central pool of taxes. Earlier, we would get Rs 325 crore. But even that has stopped now. This is like strangulating the hen that lays golden eggs," Kejriwal said.

While presenting the budget in the Assembly, Atishi said the Delhi government will strengthen its Goods and Services Tax administration, making it faceless to boost revenue.

The government will source Rs 41,000 crore through GST and VAT, which will be 70 per cent of the total tax revenue of Rs 58,750 crore estimated in budget 2024-25.

In fiscal 2023-24, the GST and value-added Tax (VAT) collections until January 2024 witnessed a growth of 13.96 per cent year-on-year to Rs 31,445 crore, the finance minister said.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders praised the Delhi government budget, the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party termed it as a gimmick ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

During her maiden budget speech, Atishi announced the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana' under which all eligible women aged 18 and above will get Rs 1,000 every month. The government has set aside Rs 2,000 for the implementation of the scheme.

"The Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana is perhaps the world's biggest programme of women empowerment. It will incur a huge amount. We will implement the scheme after the Lok Sabha polls," Kejriwal said.

There are around 67 lakh women voters in Delhi, the chief minister said, adding that the scheme excludes the income taxpayers and those who avail benefits of other government schemes.

According to Kejriwal, the scheme will benefit around 45 to 50 lakh women.

The finance minister said that any woman, who is eligible, will have to fill a form and give a self-declaration that she is not a part of any government scheme. She is also not a government employee and is not an income taxpayer.

"On the basis of self-declaration, those women will start getting the benefits of this scheme. Along with the form, every woman will have to provide her Aadhaar card and bank account information. For the financial year 2024-25, I propose Rs 2,000 crore for 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana'," she said.

Equating supplying 24X7 free electricity to over 40 per cent of domestic consumers in Delhi with "Ram Rajya", the minister announced an allocation of Rs 3,353 crore for the power department.

"It is said that 'Ram Rajya' is where every house is illuminated. Now, people in Delhi don't have to wait for Diwali to illuminate their homes because electricity is available 24X7," she said.

The government allocated Rs 8,423 crore for the civic bodies, which is more than Rs 8,241 crore budgeted in 2023-24.

Atishi said the priority of the state government is to focus on providing quality education to the residents of the city.

She also announced the implementation of the Business Blasters scheme in universities and industrial training institutes (ITIs). The scheme is already being implemented in government schools.

The minister highlighted that the government schools under the Kejriwal-led state government have transformed significantly.

About the city's healthcare system, she said that in the last nine years, under the Kejriwal dispensation, the healthcare has moved from a state of 'majboori se majbooti' (helplessness to strength) and 'nirasha se vishwas' (despair to faith).

She said the second principle of Ram Rajya is curing every ailing person.

To ensure the right to water and sewerage facilities for every household in Delhi, Rs 7,195 crore has been allocated to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Talking about the transport sector, she said that Delhi will have over 10,000 buses in its fleet, including 80 per cent electric buses.

She announced Rs 510 crore for the induction of electric buses in DTC and cluster buses fleet and Rs 500 crore for Delhi Metro.