New Delhi: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi Budget for FY 2025-26 Tuesday, outlining a 10-point vision aimed at making the national capital self-reliant. With a sharp focus on infrastructure, economic empowerment, environmental sustainability, and urban development, this is the first budget of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Delhi in over 26 years, following the party’s emphatic victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in last month’s Assembly elections.
During her 138-minute Budget speech, Gupta, who also holds the finance portfolio, described the budget as “historic”, asserting that it marked the end of an era of corruption and inefficiency in Delhi’s governance. This budget marks a 31.5 percent increase from the previous year’s budget under the AAP government which was Rs 76,000 crore. The capital expenditure was also doubled in this year’s budget to Rs 28,000 crore, from Rs 15,089 crore last year.
Following the central government’s example, infrastructure secured one of the highest allocations in the national capital’s budget.
Out of the 1 lakh crore, Rs 12,952 crore (or 13 percent) was allocated to transport, road and bridges, as opposed to Rs 7,470 crore in AAP government’s 2024 Budget, marking a 73.39 percent hike.
A total of Rs 3,843 crore has been allocated for improving Delhi’s road and bridge infrastructure, while Rs 696 crore—157 percent more than last year—has been earmarked for the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to develop slums and JJ colonies.
This is followed by the healthcare sector, which attracted a 13 percent share in the budget, with an allocation of Rs 12,893 crore, as opposed to Rs 8,685 crore last year.
Criticising the previous government for mismanagement in the healthcare sector, Delhi CM announced Rs 320 crore for expanding Health and Wellness Centres (HWC)/Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM), aiming to establish 400 such centres for improved primary healthcare facilities.
Rs 1,666.66 crore was proposed for strengthening critical care blocks and diagnostics under the PM-ABHIM scheme.
However, she did not mention anything about Mohalla clinics or free treatment for eligible citizens.
Last year, the AAP government’s budget allocated Rs 8,685 crore for the health sector, with 38 government hospitals providing free treatment to over 81,000 outpatient department (OPD) patients daily and 65,806 inpatient department (IPD) patients monthly.
A crucial element of the budget is the government’s commitment to cleaning the Yamuna River. The allocation of Rs 500 crore will fund the installation of 40 decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs), ensuring wastewater is treated at the source.
Gupta accused the AAP-govt of not making enough of an effort to clean the river.
She also launched an initiative to install 32 water quality monitoring stations along the Yamuna River and various drains in Delhi to enable real-time monitoring of water quality.
With such measures, the water supply and sanitation sector made for 9 percent of the total budget, with an allocation of Rs 9,000 crore, up by 25 percent from Rs 7,195 crore last year.
The BJP-led Delhi government also fulfilled some of its election promises, like Rs 2,500 allowance for eligible women, for which the government allocated a budget of Rs 5,100 crore. The AAP-govt in its last budget had allowed assistance of Rs 1,000 to eligible women.
“Monthly assistance for senior citizens (60-69 years) is being increased to Rs 2,500/-; those above 70 years of age will be given monthly assistance of Rs 3,000/-. Senior citizens (60-69 years) from SC/ST/minority communities will get additional monthly assistance of Rs 500/-. Financial assistance to ‘women in distress’ and ‘divyangjan’ is also being increased from Rs 2,500/- to Rs 3,000/- per month. A budget of Rs 3,227 crore allocated for all these schemes,” according to the budget document.
The AAP-government’s budget last year allowed assistance of up to Rs 2,500 for senior citizens with 9.03 lakh beneficiaries.
Focusing on its election manifesto, the government has earmarked Rs 100 crore for the launch of Atal Canteens, which, the CM said, will offer nutritious, subsidised meals at Rs 5 at 100 locations across Delhi. This initiative, named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is aimed at providing affordable food to low-income groups.
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Focus on education
Additionally promoting education among the needy sections of the society, Gupta announced the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Stipend Scheme to empower Scheduled Caste (SC) students. With a Rs 5 crore budget, the scheme will offer Rs 1,000 monthly stipends to SC students pursuing technical and vocational education in ITIs, skill centers, and polytechnics.
With education remaining a key focus for parties in Delhi, the BJP government allocated Rs 19,291 crore to the sector, making up 19 percent of this year’s total expenditure. This marks a 17 percent increase from the AAP government’s budgetary allocation of Rs 16,396 crore, which accounted for a whopping 21 percent of their budget.
Leader of Opposition, Atishi criticised the move saying the Budget reveals the government’s “intent to weaken public services”.
“For the first time in 10 years, the education budget has fallen below 20 percent (of the total), showing their agenda to destroy government schools. Health spending has also been cut to 13 per cent—the lowest in a decade—to dismantle free treatment services for the poor,” she said.
CM Gupta also announced a Rs 100 crore allocation to open 60 new CM Shri Schools, modeled after PM Shri Schools, for the 2025-26 session. These schools will fully comply with NEP 2020 and implement the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSC) 2023.
The government also announced the establishment of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Language Laboratories in 100 government schools in Delhi, with a budget allocation of Rs 21 crore. Additionally, Rs 50 crore has been allocated to set up 175 new computer labs in government schools.
Gupta also announced that 1,200 eligible students who pass the 10th Board examination will receive free laptops.
With urban flooding being a persistent problem in the monsoon season, the budget sets aside Rs 150 crore for the remodeling of city drains to increase their water-carrying capacity and prevent waterlogging.
Additionally, Rs 100 crore has been allocated to shift all overhead cables underground, ensuring a safer, cleaner, and modernised cityscape.
A Rs 20 crore allocation under the Delhi Parks and Garden Society scheme will support Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), NGOs, and societies in enhancing the city’s green cover, ensuring a healthier and more sustainable urban environment.
As part of her Budget speech, Gupta announced the formation of a traders’ welfare board to protect the rights of business owners, along with additional boards for gig workers. She also proposed holding a global investment summit in Delhi every 2 years to attract investments to the Union territory.
Sectors like social welfare and security also registered a hike in their allotments—Rs 10,597 crore, up from Rs 6,694 crore last year.
While there wasn’t a green budget separately this year, the BJP government allocated 3.84 percent (or Rs 3,843 crore) for the Energy and Power Sector.
While this exceeds AAP govt’s allocation in terms of whole numbers, the percentage share in the budget fell by 0.56 percent.
Two sectors in which the BJP reduced its spending were repayment of loans and interest payment.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)