New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday slammed the previous AAP government in Delhi, citing findings from CAG reports, and asserted that her administration is using “pesticides”, referring to her government’s reforms, to flush out “termites” affecting governance, development and execution of schemes and projects. Highlighting various corrective steps taken by her 18-month-old government, Gupta said the Delhi Cabinet will soon function as an e-Cabinet for which a proposal was moved. During a debate in the Assembly regarding two Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on the finances and performance of the former Delhi government, Gupta alleged that it was seeped in “scams” and headed by a chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal), who she claimed had no departmental oversight yet made all decisions without signing files. Referring to a CAG report presented earlier in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly, Chief Minister Gupta asserted that the regulatory assets of discoms amassed during the previous administration have now escalated to Rs 30,000 crore. However, she promised that her government would not allow this burden to fall on the people.
Claiming there was a “scam” even during payments for the power subsidy, and crores were paid to consumers who did not consume any electricity, Gupta alleged a “nexus” between the former Delhi government and the power discoms. She said that the regulatory assets, which were Rs 9,000 crore in 2019, rose to Rs 27,000 crore in 2021 and currently sit at Rs 38,000 crore. Gupta criticised opposition AAP MLAs for evading questions about who would repay this outstanding amount. “A time may come when this burden could fall on Delhi, but our government is fighting against it in court. We will not let this burden impact the people adversely,” the chief minister said. Gupta listed various findings from the CAG reports, including lapsed central grants to the Delhi government, announcements of schemes with no implementation, irregularities in tenders, and non-payment of GST refunds that occurred under AAP’s rule. “We are now applying ‘pesticides’ to flush out the termites that have ravaged Delhi and exploited its residents,” she stated, highlighting her government’s efforts to restore order. Over the past 19 months, Gupta noted that her administration ensured that 19 CAG reports related to the previous government were finally presented in the Assembly. “These reports expose the previous regime, highlighting how they looted the people of Delhi. We have witnessed their scams in almost all the departments of the government,” she charged. Gupta criticised the former government for having available funds but either failing to spend them or doing so “irregularly”, asserting that it only “fooled” the public without adequately addressing infrastructure needs, such as schools and roads.
“They just made announcements, spent crores on publicity, and the ultimate result remained nil. Centre’s grants lapsed while they always offered excuses and sought five years more to do things, before elections,” Gupta lashed out at the AAP. She mentioned that the previous AAP government had announced 32 schemes for which it took credit but did not allocate any funds. Additionally, there were 34 schemes worth over Rs 2,000 crore that received financial approval but remained unimplemented, Gupta claimed. The GST refunds under the previous government were just Rs 695 crore in 2024-25, Gupta said, adding that her government raised it to Rs 1,313 crore after coming to power in 2025-26 and the refunds in the current financial year so far were Rs 550 crore. Moreover, she stated that utilisation certificates were required for schemes worth Rs 20,000 crore, as details of their implementation were needed.
“I wonder how shameless they are to demand these utilisation certificates for schemes that were not submitted. The ‘termites’ that created these issues came from their time, and our government is applying the ‘pesticide’ to resolve it. They ravaged Delhi and looted its citizens,” she said. The chief minister noted that her government has taken disciplinary action against officers, suspending them for misconduct, and has transferred hundreds of officials, including doctors who had been holding comfortable posts for many years. Gupta also stated that the previous government had incurred high costs due to arbitration clauses in tenders, which her administration has now eliminated. PTI VIT VIT MPL MPL
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