Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during a public interaction session after completion of one year by his government, in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a waiver on all pending water bills till November 30, 2015 as he presented a report card on the achievements of his government’s one year in office.
The chief minister said the city will now have a three-tier medical system and neighbourhood clinics will be set up in each locality. Besides adding new 8,000 new classrooms, he said, 11,000 government schools will also be revamped.
Every household regardless of being authorised, planned or unplanned, village, slum, unauthorised or resettlement colony, Mr Kejriwal said, will have water supply network and piped water by December 2017. The total value of the pending bills to be waived across categories is Rs 2,854.80 crore. The AAP government also decided to waive the payment of late fees and that will cost it another Rs 923.27 crore.
During the programme, Mr Kejriwal also listed the work done by his government. On education, Mr Kejriwal said his government is constructing 8,000 new classrooms which would be ready by July. “At present, 80-150 students sit in a classroom due to which it is impossible to impart good education to them. Our government is constructing 8,000 new classrooms and, thereafter, 45-60 students will sit in one classroom,” he said, adding they are also building 45 new schools.
Mr Kejriwal said his government took the “good decision” to abolish management quota under which private schools allegedly used to take lakhs of rupees from parents for granting admission to their wards. The government will construct 1,000 mohalla clinics and 150 polyclinics by the end of this year, he said. The revenue department has also abolished unnecessary affidavits which caused people to face a lot of problems.
Setting up of 300 mohalla sabhas, around 80 Aam Aadmi Canteens, rehabilitation of JJ cluster residents in multi-storey apartments were other announcements made by the AAP-led government. “The Delhi government is forming 3,000 mohalla sabhas across the national capital. Mapping of these mohalla sabhas will be prepared within 15-20 days. These sabhas will given powers (to take decision on development works),” Mr Kejriwal said.
The chief minister said the government also planned to rehabilitate people living in JJ clusters and they will be shifted to multi-storey apartments, adding that the government has identified five JJ clusters to execute the project in the first phase.
Giving an account of the work undertaken by the Delhi government over the last 12 months, the chief minister said that his government has not let a single penny of taxpayers’ money go “waste.”
“When we analysed water bills, we found these in a disarray as most water bills were prepared on an average basis without reading meters. It will be impossible to sit and correct these bills. In view of this, pending water bills till November 30 will be waived. The exemptions will be based on property tax category areas,” Mr Kejriwal told the gathering organised to mark one year of the AAP government.
He said people living in A and B category areas will be given exemption of up to 25 per cent on their water bills and C category areas will receive 50 per cent exemption. “The D category areas will be exempted 75 per cent and E, F, G and H category areas will be completely exempted from paying pending bills. Late payment surcharge will be totally waived in all categories,” he said.
The chief minister said most people were facing trouble in getting correct bills and added that the recovery of water dues was almost “zero.”
He said the waiver will be only for those consumers who have a functional water meter. Mr Kejriwal and his entire Cabinet on Sunday took questions from Delhiites in a phone-in programme at the NDMC Convention Centre to mark the completion of the AAP government’s one year in power.
City water minister Kapil Mishra said there are around 19.5 lakh registered water consumers and 75 per cent of them will benefit from the scheme. “People whose water meter number is registered with the Delhi Jal Board will be exempted. Consumers who have a meter, but that is not registered with the DJB, will have to do the same to avail of the scheme,” he said. The city minister said he hopes that with this scheme, the menace of “fake water bills” is checked.
After coming to power, the AAP government had announced halving of power tariff for families consuming up to 400 units a month and free-water supply of 20,000 litres (20 kilolitres) to every household. Mr Kejriwal said that by the end of December 2017, every household will be connected to a piped water network and added that the AAP government had prepared a draft plan in this regard. “With the laying of water pipes in every area by 2017, there will be no need for water tanks. Except 45-50 colonies on government land, all localities will receive water through a pipeline,” Mr Kejriwal said.
On February 14, 2015, Mr Kejriwal had taken oath as the chief minister after the AAP won 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Mr Kejriwal said his government will set aside '800 crore to execute the project in the national capital.
Delhi will have to become the city where people can drink water directly from a tap and the DJB has been asked to prepare a plan in this regard, the CM said. “The DJB has promised that by 2017, clean drinking water will be supplied to the people of Delhi through its pipelines. The DJB will set up several laboratories in different areas where people can get their tap water tested,” he said.
Ashish Khetan, vice-chairman of Delhi Dialogue Commission, an advisory body of the AAP government, said that by the end of this year around 80 Aam Aadmi Canteens will come up in the city. “We will soon float tenders to execute the project,” he said even as deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia requested him to open such canteens in the DU campus. Mr Kejriwal said by May, rations will be distributed to people using biometric-based system.
Health minister Satyendar Jain said the AAP government will launch a drive against food adulteration in the city. “The government will soon launch a drive against food adulteration, which is aimed at creating awareness among people of Delhi,” Mr Jain said.
