The Hindu : New Delhi News : Joshi lauds Delhi Government for people-friendly measures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 22, 2007
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

Joshi lauds Delhi Government for people-friendly measures

Staff Reporter

Lieutenant-Governor addresses Budget Session of the Assembly

BUDGET SESSION: Speaker Chowdhury Prem Singh along with Lieutenant-Governor B.L. Joshi and Chief Minister Sheila Dikhsit arriving on the opening day of Budget Session of the Delhi Government on Wednesday . — PHOTO: ANU PUSHKARNA

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Governor B. L. Joshi in his address to the Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly said it was the Government prudent fiscal policy that has placed it on a sound financial footing.

Amidst loud slogan shouting by the Bharatiya Janata Party members who criticised the Delhi Government for its failure to check installation of fast running electricity meters and for failing to provide people with adequate water supply, Mr. Joshi completed his address.

He said by continuing to be revenue surplus, the Delhi Government has been able to increase its Plan outlay from Rs. 5,200 crore in the current financial year to Rs.9,000 crore in 2007-08.

"This is both an opportunity as well as a challenge for us to up-scale the infrastructure and translate the growth and development of Delhi into an improved quality of life for its people,'' he said.

Enumerating the work done in various sectors, Mr. Joshi said the Delhi Health Mission has been launched to bridge gaps in health care delivery.

He said 31 hospitals have been operationalised, while five super specialty hospitals and 10 other hospitals were under different stages of construction. Others are being upgraded.

In the field of education, Mr. Joshi said while enrolment in schools has increased 42 per cent since 1997-98, the pass percentage has improved from 32 per cent to 60 per cent for Class X and from 63 per cent to 78 per cent for Class XII over the same period.

In higher education, three polytechnics and ITIs are being upgraded to engineering colleges, he said.

The Lieutenant-Governor said a "Girl Child Protection Scheme'' has also been started under which Rs. 5,000 is deposited in the name of a newborn girl child to check the declining sex ratio.

He also made a mention of the Stree Shakti and Bhagidari concepts of the Government relating to women empowerment and people participation in governance respectively.

As for the power sector, Mr. Joshi said the reduction in aggregate technical and commercial losses has resulted in cumulative savings of around Rs. 3,600 crore over the past five years. He said efforts were being made to make Delhi power surplus.

For augmenting water supply, he said, work on construction of water recycling plants at Bhagirathi, Hiderpur and Wazirabad was on and Delhi was pursuing the Union Government and respective State Governments for early completion of Renuka, Keshau an Lakhar Vyasi projects in upper reaches of the Himalayas.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi