hief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday announced that no slum colonies in Delhi will be demolished; instead Rs 700 crore has been allocated for their comprehensive development. Speaking at a large public event titled “100 Din Sewa Ke” at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Gupta assured residents that her Government would focus on upgrading the living conditions of slum dwellers without displacing them.
“Until every slum dweller receives a permanent home, they will continue to live in their current shelters — but with improved facilities and dignity,” she said.
The event, styled as a live interactive interview with veteran actor Anupam Kher, was attended by all Cabinet Ministers, seven Members of Parliament, 48 MLAs, senior BJP leaders and top Government officials. Held to mark the completion of 100 days of the new administration, the occasion served as both a report card and a political statement from the Chief Minister, who used the platform to present her Government’s early achievements and sharply criticise what she termed “a decade of empty publicity” under the previous regime.
Among the most significant highlights of her address was the immediate implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), which had long been delayed in the Capital. Approved during her Government’s very first cabinet meeting, the scheme has already enrolled over 3.5 lakh beneficiaries in Delhi, offering free health insurance coverage up to Rs 10 lakh per family.
The CM expressed concern over the State of the city’s healthcare infrastructure, pointing out that Delhi currently has just 0.42 hospital beds per 1,000 residents. She committed to increasing this figure to over one bed per 1,000 people. In addition, nearly 80 hospitals have been empanelled under PM-JAY, 1,139 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are under construction, and 300 dialysis machines are being procured to strengthen medical services.
Turning to the education sector, the Chief Minister highlighted the passage of the Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation & Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025. “While previous governments only focused on publicity, we approved The Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation & Regulation of Fees) Bill 2025 to end the arbitrariness of private schools,” she said.
On urban infrastructure, Gupta detailed the Government’s efforts to rejuvenate the Yamuna and modernise the city’s water and sewerage systems. An Rs 9,000 crore provision has been made in the Delhi Jal Board’s budget to support these upgrades. Seven sewage treatment plants have already been modernised, 40 new decentralised plants launched, and 70 tube wells installed in South Delhi to benefit nearly 1.5 lakh people. She also noted that lakhs of metric tons of waste have been removed from city drains, with instructions to complete drain cleaning before the monsoon.
To address the mounting legacy waste problem, Gupta announced that 30,000 metric tons of garbage is currently being processed daily through bio-mining. The Government aims to eliminate the Bhalaswa and Okhla landfill sites within two years. Two new waste-to-energy plants are under construction in
Narela and Ghazipur, while a modern e-waste park is being developed in Holambi Kalan.
The Chief Minister also outlined a broad set of environmental reforms, including the mandatory installation of smog guns on high-rise buildings, deployment of 1,000 sprinklers and 70 advanced road sweeping machines, and the introduction of 460 electric DEVI buses. She said 2,000 more electric buses will be rolled out by the end of the year as part of the city’s new EV policy.
Focusing on women’s welfare, Gupta announced the launch of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, under which Rs 2,500 in monthly assistance will be provided to economically weaker women. The scheme has been allotted Rs 5,100 crore. Additionally, 500 crèches are being constructed for the children of women labourers and new hostels and one-stop centres are being developed to enhance safety and support services for women.
Concluding her address with a sharp critique of former governments, Gupta said, “They sat in their Sheeshmahal with lavish curtains, tuning into only the news they liked. While they decorated their halls with corruption, we have rebuilt Delhi with honesty.” The remark drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd and prompted Anupam Kher to joke, “You did not cough even once,” in a clear jab at former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.