2015: New year of possibilities

The new year promises to end the uncertainty in Delhi’s power corridors by bringing in a new elected government and giving some momentum to the wheels of development, which seemed to have slowed down over the past months.

Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has administered the city for the about 10 months months now but despite his best of efforts despondency seems to have descended upon Delhi Secretariat, where the officials have even failed to exhaust the Plan budget for the current financial year.

The need for a stable, elected government is underlined by the fact that since April only about 40 per cent of the Rs 16,700 crore Plan budget has been spent.

Apparently, there is a lack of innovative schemes or people-orientated spending while Delhi is under President's rule.

The cost of this underspending by the Delhi government could be a cut in the city's budgetary allocations for the next financial year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party both claim to be inching towards a position to form a government after the Assembly elections, expected in February.

Endgame for Congress
The Congress has not been so vocal about its electoral targets, though party chief Arvinder Singh has claimed that the grand old party will bounce back in the Assembly polls.

The city Congress leaders admit privately that they are not looking to form the next government. “For us it is more of a battle for survival,” says a former legislator.

Regardless of which political dispensation  forms the government, the outcome of the Assembly polls will determine the future of the Congress in Delhi.

As a well-thought out strategy the grand old party has narrowed down its focus in the elections to 30 seats, which it is desperate to win to remain relevant in city politics.

On the other 40 seats, it is expected to experiment a lot by giving grassroots-level workers a chance to fight the election.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s ability to prove poll pundits wrong has created a fear among its rivals. Yet, the party’s poor show in the Lok Sabha polls at the national level will continue to play on the minds of Arvind Kejriwal and his team when they try to win a majority in Delhi.

In the past, Dalit and Muslim voters have shown a preference towards the AAP over the Congress. If the trend continues in the 2015 Assembly polls, psephologists would not hesitate in writing the Congress party’s obituary.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the vote share of the AAP was 32.9 percent, the Congress got 15.1 per cent votes and the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the winner with 46.1 percent vote share and ended pocketing all the seven seats.

The BJP too is viewing the ensuing Assembly elections as a prestige issue, especially when these are being held after a string of successes in the states, attributed to the Narendra Modi factor. The party would not want to let Delhi be led by a non-saffron dispensation.

The infighting in the BJP ranks could act as a spoiler. The same holds good for the Congress and the AAP but to a lesser extent.

Decisions on hold
Among the immediate tasks that the new government will have to address in February would be a decision on subsidy on power and water bills.

The major parties in the fray have more or less committed to the voters that they will not pass on the increasing costs of production and operations to the consumers. Some still promise to cut the bills by half or 30 per cent.

The annual 10 per cent hike in water tariff that takes effect in January every year has been put off by the Delhi Jal  Board, hoping that an elected government will be in a better position to take a decision next month.

In the absence of a chief minister and a cabinet, proposals like imposing a cess on cigarette sales and liquor have apparently been put on the back-burner as the administration seems unwilling to take tough decisions that pinch Delhiites' pockets.

The revenue generation and anti-congestion idea of increasing the registration charge on new cars costing upto Rs 6 lakh, from Rs 24,000 to Rs 36,000, too failed to get the green signal in the absence of an elected government.

The process for recruitment of over 20,000 teachers in government schools can also be expected to pick up pace under a new government.

The new cabinet is also likely to take a decision on whether or not to create a “super posh” category among colonies for collection of the highest circle rates at the time of registration of property..

A project to start monorail in east Delhi and another one for introducing rapid rail to link the city with the National Capital Region towns are awaiting the nod from an elected Delhi government.

Also, the constitution of the governing bodies of Delhi University colleges receiving aid from the Delhi government is pending due to the absence of a cabinet.

Other Infrastructure projects may also gain from a new government in office. The delayed Kalindi Kunj bypass project and the signature bridge over the Yamuna at Wazirabad could not be pushed when there was no elected government. 

The proposal to make ITO intersection signal-free too has remained in files with bureaucrats showing little interest in it.

The files on the Delhi Transport Corporation and the Delhi Metro’s fare revision are also likely to be on the desk of the new chief minister within days of taking charge.

E-governance initiatives like e-certificates and e-refunds, rooftop solar power generation in homes and smart city dreams of satellite technology linked services for vehicle tracking and smart traffic management may grow bigger in the coming year.

A heritage tag for the city might become a reality with a dedicated cabinet pushing the agenda.

There is some hope for the dirty Yamuna may as well with a significant part of the interceptor drain project likely to be completed by June next year. The drains will trap sewerage from major drains, help treat the waste and release the water back into the river.

And e-rickshaws and quadricycles may hit the road by the time a new government assumes office. Still, the final policy directions on regulating the green, three-wheeled battery vehicles will carry the personal stamp of the new chief minister.

Amid indications from the transport department that the union transport ministry may want the e-rickshaws to return to Delhi roads before the February Assembly polls, politics revolving around about 80,000 e-rickshaw drivers is expected to grow intense in the coming weeks. 

Women’s safety
The biggest test for the new government would be to convince the people that it has done something new and concrete for preventing crimes against women.

Whether Civil Defence volunteers are pressed into service or resident welfare associations are roped in to mount vigil and making women feel safe remains to be seen.

An expansion and strengthening of the 181 women helpline, on the basis of a blueprint prepared by the central government for the entire country, has already been signalled by the social welfare department. The speed at which it is done will depend on the new cabinet.

The new chief minister would want to deliver on women security before December 16 – the anniversary of the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape – which has over the years become the report card day for city administrators on issues related to women safety.

More CCTV cameras, exclusive women-driven cabs and a call centre for women to order a safe cab for a journey after dark are some proposals on the table.

The elected representatives will have to chalk out an effective strategy to save Delhi from the disgrace of being repeatedly tagged as the country's 'rape capital'.