LG Saxena praises Government’s 10-month performance

Amid pandemonium, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday addressed the Delhi Assembly’s Winter Session, highlighting the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi Government’s achievements during its 10 months in office, while pointing to legacy issues such as inertia and negativity within the administration.

In his 40-minute speech, Lt Governor Saxena listed healthcare, education, infrastructure, and cleaning the Yamuna River among the Government’s top priorities, with special emphasis on measures taken to control air pollution.

Saxena acknowledged that air pollution is one of the “most serious” challenges faced by Delhi and added that clean air is not a privilege but a “fundamental right” of every citizen. “My government is fully committed to pollution control. Instead of limiting itself, as in previous years, to only seasonal measures, it launched a comprehensive, year-round and time-bound Air Pollution Mitigation Plan in June 2025,” he said.

He said the Government presented a historic budget of Rs 1 lakh crore this year, with a focus on infrastructure, education, health, women’s welfare, power, roads, environment, and social justice. He added that all commercial establishments, except liquor shops, have been allowed to remain open 24 hours. Fire and factory licences have been made easier to obtain, and labour laws have been simplified.

Earlier, AAP MLAs attended the House wearing masks and raised slogans during the Lt Governor’s address.  This forced the Speaker Vijender Gupta to marshal out four MLAs. In protest, other AAP MLAs walked out of the House and staged a sit-in near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Addressing the House, Saxena said to strengthen air quality monitoring, 06 new Air Quality Monitoring Stations are being established. This will ensure the availability of real-time data, transparency and accountability. In addition, work is being expedited to establish 03 Automated Testing Stations (ATS) at Nand Nagri, Burari and Tehkhand for technology-based fitness testing of approximately 2.5 lakh commercial vehicles every year. For dust control, mechanical road sweepers in double shifts, water sprinkling and extensive use of anti-smog guns are being deployed. To strengthen sanitation systems and control pollution, a decision has been taken to provide financial assistance of `2,300 Crore to Municipal Corporation of Delhi for 70 MRSMs and 1,000 litter picker machines over a period of 10 years. The condition of the Yamuna, owing to years of neglect and pollution, remains deplorable, the LG said.

In a short span of time, the Delhi government has renovated 150 km of roads, and construction and redevelopment of 400 km of roads will be completed by March 2026, he said. There is a plan for the development of three major roads — Delhi-MG Road, Mathura Road and Rohtak Road — through the National Highways Authority of India. Acknowledging waterlogging as a long-standing issue in Delhi, Saxena said around 22 lakh metric tonnes of silt have been removed from drains across the city.

The Government, with the goal of making Delhi a garbage-free city, aims to reduce the three mountains of waste by 2027, Saxena said, referring to the three landfill sites in the city at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla.

The condition of the Yamuna, owing to years of neglect and pollution, remains deplorable, the LG said. “Upon assuming office, my government accorded the highest priority to the cleanliness of the Yamuna. Work on the rejuvenation of the river is being undertaken simultaneously at multiple levels,” he said, citing the setting up of new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and the upgrade of the existing ones. The Government, which came to power in February 2025 with an overwhelming majority, is fully conscious of the inherent responsibilities of the mandate and is firmly committed to discharging them with due diligence and dedication, Saxena told the House.

“The foremost challenge before my government has been to overcome the inertia and negativity that had pervaded governance and administration for years. Within a short span of nearly 10 months, my government has taken several significant and concrete steps in this direction,” he said.