NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor V K Saxena, in his maiden address to the Delhi Assembly, said on Friday that the development process in the capital was going in the right direction. On the first day of the budget session, Saxena said a large number of people had made the city their home and the state government was trying to fulfil their aspirations through “sincere effort and responsiveness”.”The development process in Delhi is proceeding in the right direction at the desired pace. People’s participation has provided a powerful dimension to this,” Saxena said in his speech. “We shall overcome challenges and transform Delhi into a modern, progressive and global city.”The LG’s address was delayed by a few minutes when the BJP legislators raised slogans as he rose to speak demanding CM Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation over the alleged corruption in the excise policy. It was only after three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the House and the remaining five walked out that Saxena could begin his address.Listing the AAP government’s achievements, Saxena said the focus on improving the education and health sectors was yielding desired results. “Government schools recorded a pass percentage of 98% and 97% in classes XII and X levels, respectively, in 2021-22,” Saxena said. The LG also said Delhi government would soon launch ‘Project Voices’ for students of classes III-XII for sharing thoughts through oral expression.Elaborating on the health sector, which, along with education, has been the mainstay of AAP government’s ‘Delhi model of governance’, Saxena said 19 existing hospitals had been remodelled. “Five new hospitals at Bindapur, Baprola, Deendarapur, Keshavpuram and Sangam Vihar are in the planning stage. More than 16,000 beds will be added after the completion of new hospitals and remodelling of the hospitals,” he said.The LG said the government’s health information management system was at the implementation phase with pilots in two hospitals. Health cards would be provided to all eligible residents on the basis of voter ID cards.Listing other achievements, the LG said efforts were under way to eliminate violence and discrimination against women and Delhi government had signed an MoU with UN Women for technical support. He said 1.35 lakh CCTV cameras had been installed across Delhi and 20,000 new classrooms built. He added that the number of ‘severe’ air days dropped from 24 in 2021 to six in 2022.Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted the economy, Saxena said that Delhi had remained an island of robust economic fundamentals. The Gross State Domestic Product at current prices increased 50% in five years from Rs 6,16,085 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 9,23,967 crore in 2021-22. In a single year, the per capita income went up by almost 17% from Rs 3,44,136 in 2020-21 to Rs 4,01,982 in 2021-22.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/progress-in-delhi-at-desired-pace-in-right-direction-lg-vk-saxena/articleshow/98744266.cms
