Delhi CM must ensure pending projects are completed

PTI, New Delhi: The new Delhi Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Atishi, who took the oath of office on Saturday, has a long list of pending projects, schemes and new initiatives to be launched in the next few months, ahead of the Assembly polls due early next year. Atishi will have to hit the ground running to accelerate the city government’s functioning and ensure that the flagship projects and schemes are back on track after those slowed down for months due to the imprisonment of her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal. Due to the five-monthlong judicial custody of Kejriwal in the excise policy case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been struggling to address issues related to basic services and infrastructure, including roads, water supply and sewer and medicines, owing to a fund crunch, as claimed by party leaders.

Atishi will have to deal with these and much more during her short span of chief ministership, apart from ensuring the implementation of Kejriwal’s promise to provide an honorarium of Rs 1,000 to the eligible women in Delhi under the proposed “ M u k hy a - mantri Mahila Samman Yojana”. The imm e d i a t e task before her will be allocating portfolios among the ministers in consultation with the party, holding the crucial National Capital Civil Services Authority meeting for Group-A postings, resuming the doorstep delivery of services scheme, approving the Delhi EV Policy 2.0 and the Solar Policy, among others, officials said. The new chief minister will also be involved in hectic meetings to speed up the pending work on welfare schemes and infrastructure projects related to roads, water supply, sewerage, pollution, disbursal of subsidies and wage revision of workers in the unorganised sector.

The most daunting task before Atishi, however, will be to establish healthy relations with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in view of the latter’s approvals required for a variety of governance as well as development work of the Delhi government, officials said.