AAP government for higher spending on health, education

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today that health and education sectors have been slowly killed by successive governments leaving them to collapse so that the private sector flourished.

Talking to senior editors to mark the completion of AAP government's one year in office, he said a three-level structure of health infrastructure was being built in Delhi that will comprise mohalla clinics (primary health), poly clinics and then super speciality hospitals.

Flanked by Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, Health and PWD minister Satyender Jain and Transport Minister Gopal Rai, Kejriwal said from this month the government has started free supply of medicines to the poor and 50 diagnostic tests are available to them without any payment.

There will be 1,000 mohalla clinics that will provide treatment to people almost at their doors and 100 or 150 poly clinics opened by the end of the year.

He said the medical superintendents of hospitals have been empowered to recruit former defence service personnel to be put in charge of cleanliness and security so that doctors will be free to do medical work.

The government was also considering introducing a comprehensive health card system covering all the population so that medical data is available for all.

A comprehensive health insurance scheme is also planned and the number of beds in government hospitals is planned to be doubled from the present 10,000 to 20,000 in two years.

There also people will be recruited to maintain the upkeep of the schools so that principals are free to do work relating to education so that quality of education imparted goes up.

Out of the 1,100 schools, 54 have been picked up for being spruced up. Based on experience, by next year the government will do it all the 1,100 schools. But it all depends on the leadership that will be provided by principals.

Sisodia said the government was also considering sending principals to Oxford and Cambridge Universities and IIM Ahmedabad to expose themselves to a complete new environment.

He said the government was also planning to initiate steps for starting a Skill University and a Sports University for job-oriented higher education for children coming out of schools.

On the power front, Kejriwal said if a CAG report containing various recommendations is implemented then the power costs would come down considerably.

Of the demand of 5,000 mw of power the capital needs, half of it costs Rs 5 to 7 per unit,  most of it from central utility NTPC.

"We told the Centre allow us to cancel the contracts with NTPC. But the Centre has rejected this. In the last 10 years under Shiela Dikshit agreements were signed which has made power costly," he said.

He said the AAP government would also want to have long-term contracts but it should be allowed to negotiate on its own from different sources. The subsidy on power is Rs 1,400 crore a year while on water it is about Rs 150 crore.

By December next year, all citizens of Delhi will have piped water supply in their homes. 

Jain said plans are on for the construction of BRT corridors from east to west--from Anand Vihar in one end in one corridor and from Punjabi Bagh in the other end in the other corridor--at a cost of Rs 150 crore in two years.

Elevated roads will be built in which one layer for cars will be a toll road.