Delhi Budget: CM announces smart cards for women’s free travel in DTC buses

New Delhi: With the aim to make Delhi a world-class capital with the largest electric public transport bus fleet, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday allocated Rs 12,952 crore for improvement of the city’s entire transport sector in Budget 2025-26.

Presenting a Budget with a Rs 1 lakh crore outlay in the Assembly, the CM announced a scheme for offering a smart card for free travel to women in public transport buses, slamming the Rs 14,000 crore loss to the DTC highlighted by a CAG report.

“There was a pink ticket scam in the previous government in the name of offering free travel to women,” she claimed.

She also allocated Rs 2,929 crore for Delhi Metro’s projects, pointing out that the previous AAP government had not paid any money to clear its Rs 6,000 crore liability towards the Centre for Phase IV of Delhi Metro.

She also promised to establish 12 new air monitoring towers and 32 water quality monitoring centres in the coming year.

Fulfilling the BJP’s poll promise of Rs 2,500 monthly assistance for women, CM Gupta allocated Rs 5,100 crore for the Mahila Samridhi Yojana (MSY).

The scheme was one of the guarantees given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign for Assembly elections which the BJP won for the first time in 27 years.

To prevent waterlogging and the resultant traffic jams, she allocated Rs 603 crore for cleaning of drains. She also announced the creation of a Rs 30-crore Integrated Command and Control Centre to monitor public complaints with the objective of ‘perform, reform and transform’.

Aiming to serve Delhi farmers, the CM announced a payment of Rs 9,000 every year to growers, including Rs 6,000 from the Centre under PM Kisan and a top up of Rs 3,000 from the Delhi government. She allotted Rs 5 crore for the top up.

Presenting her maiden Budget in Delhi Assembly, the Chief Minister unveiled a Rs 1 lakh crore outlay and offered relief to senior citizen associations, whose grants have been stopped for the last four years. The CM allocated Rs 20 crore to these associations, promising to clear dues and increase their annual grant.

She also allotted Rs 210 crore for pregnant women’s nutrition.

CM Gupta also announced opening of 500 Anganwadis and allocated Rs 50 crore for the scheme, apart from Rs 206 crore for upgrading 1,000 Anganwadis which serve as day-care centres for children of poor working women.

For working women, the CM announced the Sakhi Niwas Yojana for opening hostels and increasing the number of existing hostels from 14 to 16.

She also allocated Rs 5 crore for skilling of the homeless who live under flyovers and need care during the harsh weathers.

The Chief Minister also promised to empower farmers and villagers of the city and announced the revival of the Rural Development Board and allocated Rs 1,157 crore for projects in the city’s villages.

A welfare board for gig workers and construction workers was also promised by the Chief Minister in the Budget.

IANS