​Capital charter: on Delhi, its infrastructure

Nearly four months into her tenure as Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory (NCT), Rekha Gupta seems to have more agency and resources to address Delhi’s infrastructure issues and economic woes. The governance deficit seen during the previous government led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) due to political differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre is noticeably absent now. Interacting with a cross-section of society at The Hindu Mind, a platform for leaders from all fields to converse with curious minds, Ms. Gupta said that she wanted to be known as someone who is dedicated to resolving the daily problems of the people of Delhi. Problems abound. From electricity to education, transportation to public infrastructure, and sewage treatment to water availability, there is a litany of issues that plague the national capital. Ms. Gupta blamed the previous AAP and Congress governments for the situation. It is true that the AAP’s style of governance provided succour to the poorest segments, but shallowed out the promise of Delhi as an investment destination and an enabler of the middle-class dream for housing facilities and jobs. AAP used Delhi as a staging post of its chief Arvind Kejriwal’s electoral ambitions.

That said, no incumbent can succeed by blaming predecessors. The one in charge currently is the one answerable. Ms. Gupta said the Minto Bridge underpass in Connaught Place in central Delhi would no longer flood in the rains, and she was proved right this week when the city received a heavy downpour. But numerous other places in the city were waterlogged, and this is just a small part of the challenges. Ms. Gupta said all the water logging points in Delhi have been identified, and a nodal officer has been put in charge for each of them, who will be accountable. This must be enforced strictly. Haphazard and unpredictable land use regulations over the decades are one of the main reasons for Delhi losing out to surrounding places as a destination for housing and office space. The land pooling policy in the capital which has been meandering, now needs to be urgently streamlined and implemented. Thousands of people who have invested their hard-earned money with the dream of a house in Delhi cannot be punished for policy confusion that is not their fault. Schooling in Delhi needs to have predictable regulation, and both private and public schools must follow standards. Huge disparities in school educations can have cascading ill effects for the society. Freeing up Delhi’s so-called agricultural land for planned development must be a priority, and the Chief Minister seems to be cognisant of this. Ms. Gupta said a new Master Plan for the city will account for all these, and the fact that the BJP is in power at the Centre, NCT and in all Municipal Councils of Delhi will make things easy. It is a great chance for Ms. Gupta to lead a definitive transformation of the national capital.