Privatisation of the power sector in Delhi has been very successful as it has resulted in savings of around Rs.30,000 crore and the money saved has gone into the development of the city, said Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Ms. Dikshit said: “Savings from distribution losses has been to the tune of Rs.30,000 crore which has brought losses down from 52-53 per cent to 16-18 per cent,” she said.
“We have spent the money on development of Delhi,” she added.
The installed capacity of power which was 1,054 MW in 2003 has gone up to 2,235 MW in 2013, said Ms. Dikshit. “Nearly 99.9 per cent households in Delhi have power connection. Street lights have grown in Delhi from two lakh to five lakh in the past 10 years. The process of islanding has been initiated,” she said .
In a point-wise rebuttal to the “misinformation” spread by the BJP, Ms. Dikshit highlighted Delhi’s economic growth stating that the average growth rate in the Capital was 10.33 per cent in the past five years compared to Gujarat’s 9.51 per cent and the national average of 8.03 per cent.
“Delhi’s Gross State Domestic Product is more than Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Haryana and the contribution of Delhi to the national economy is 3. 8 per cent though it has only 1.4 per cent of the total share of the country’s population,” she said.
The Chief Minister said the per capita income in the city which is over Rs 2 lakh against national average of around Rs. 68,000 also reflected better economic environment in Delhi.
Ms. Dikshit’s repeated comparison to Gujarat was also a deliberate attempt to show that the national Capital was “way ahead” in terms of economic vibrancy and overall development.
“I am comparing it with Gujarat because the BJP trumpets its achievements there again and again and is misleading people. Do not underestimate our achievements. Delhi is much ahead than Gujarat and Delhi is the most attractive place for job seekers,” she said.
Claiming that Delhi was much ahead on almost all economic parameters compared to Gujarat, Ms. Dikshit asked the BJP to speak based on facts and figures.
“We have always spoken with sincerity and based on facts. The Delhi BJP is spreading misinformation against the Congress government with an aim to gain political mileage,” she said.
When asked to comment on fissures within the Delhi BJP especially in choosing the chief ministerial candidate, Ms. Dikshit, said: “We do not look at conflicts in other parties.”
