Education and health are the main focus of the AAP Government’s maiden Rs41,129 crore Budget for the financial year 2015-16. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday announced a whopping 106 per cent increase in education allocation, and 45 per cent increase in health sector as compared to 2014-15.
Calling it the country’s first “Swaraj Budget,” he said the Government has decided to bring down the Value Added Tax rates for certain items. He said the Budget document was a milestone towards achieving the ideal of “Swaraj” and a development model that was driven from the bottom instead of a top-driven one as it was prepared by the public at the ‘Mohalla Sabhas’.
While the Plan Budget is Rs19,000 crore, the Non-Plan Budget remains at Rs22,129 crore. The total estimated expenditure is 18 per cent higher than the revised estimates of Rs34,790 crore in 2014-15. The total expenditure for education is Rs9,836 crore, of which Rs4,570 crore is for Plan expenditure.
Fifty schools will be developed as model schools with modern facilities and infrastructure as part of a pilot project. Subsequently all schools will become model schools. As many as 236 new schools are planned and nearly 20,000 regular teachers will be recruited by the end of the year.
“It is for the first time in the country that any Government is increasing its education budget by 106 per cent, i.e. more than double. This proves that priority is being given to education,” said Sisodia.
He said the Government was in the process of installing CCTV cameras in all classrooms of Government schools to bring in “transparency and accountability”.
later in a Press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Getting education will become easy for the poor. It’s a Budget for the poor, middle-class, students, traders, industrialists and many others.” Sisodia said Rs310 crore has been allotted for skill development and a university will be set for the purpose.
The Delhi Government proposed an increase in hospital bed capacity of all new hospitals. A 700-bed hospital-cum-medical college planned at Dwarka will now have 1,500 beds. The one at Burari, that was to have 200 beds will now enhance its capacity to 800. The under-construction hospital complex at Ambedkar Nagar will now have 600 beds. Three new hospitals with a total bed capacity of 1,800 are planned at Nangloi, Siraspur and Madipur.
The Government also proposed a Swaraj Fund to allow the public to select and implement development programmes in their areas. Rs 253 crore has been allocated for the same to be implemented in 11 Assembly constituencies as a pilot project. The remaining 59 Assembly constituencies have been allocated Rs 50 lakh each.
“Next year, Swaraj Fund is expected to be made applicable on the same level in all constituencies,” said Sisodia. For the implementation of projects under Swaraj Fund, a Delhi Urban Development Agency (DUDA) is proposed to be set up in each revenue district, a body that would work under the leadership of District Magistrates.
The AAP Government also announced that a plan to clean the Yamuna will be worked out. “It will be cleaned to the extent that people will take their children there for picnics. We will do it in five years,” said Sisodia.
The Deputy CM said that in the first phase of implementation of the free WiFi scheme, all rural areas and all colleges, whether private or Government, will be provided with WiFi.
“It has also been made compulsory for drivers and conductors of mass passenger service vehicles to attend gender sensitisation programme at the time of renewal of their vehicles’ road-worthiness inspection,” said Sisodia.
Sisodia also announced construction of six working women’s hostels in the city with active participation of the private sector. Apart from that, creation of 300 creches was also announced under the Integrated Child Development Scheme.
Meanwhile, the Government has also decided to give ex-gratia relief to farmers at the rate of Rs 20,000 per acre to compensate the crop damage caused by unseasonal rain.
A Shramik Vikas Mission has also been launched to ensure payment of notified minimum wages, better welfare facilities to construction workers and their families.