The Aam Aadmi Party government scored 73% in its report card for itself, in the form of the status report of the Outcome Budget 2017-2018 that was presented in the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday. However, some of the AAP government’s pet projects, including the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics and model schools, were found to be off-track.
In a first, Finance Minister Manish Sisodia presented the status report of the Outcome Budget 2017-2018 that he had presented last year. The Outcome Budget, Mr. Sisodia said, was different from the regular Budget, which will be presented on Thursday. For instance, he said, the budget would mention the amount allocated for mohalla clinics, while the Outcome Budget would mention how many clinics are built and how many people are expected to benefit from them. For the report, Mr. Sisodia said an indicator was deemed on track if there was 70% progress.
An analysis of the status report, which covered 14 key departments’ performance on 3,469 total indicators from April 1 to December 31, 2017, found that 1,191 or 73.92% out of 1,611 critical indicators were on track and 360 or 22.34% were off track. A total of 60 or 3.72% of the critical indicators were not applicable as their target date of implementation was in the final quarter of the financial year.
Assessing 56 programmes or schemes of the Health Department, the report found 76% of the critical indicators on track. The Mohalla clinics project, however, was among the 24% that were off track, with 59 clinics functioning out of porta-cabins six days a week, against the target of 1,000. However, another 101 Mohalla clinics were functioning out of permanent structures.
Another focus area for the AAP government, education, had 74% of critical indicators of the Directorate of Education on track. The government for the first time introduced nursery and KG classes in 155 schools of the Delhi government, against the target of 156 schools. Of the 6,200 seats, 60% were filled, against the target of 80%. The government also invested in teacher training, setting up of libraries and organising summer camps. However, the government fell behind in its highly publicised initiative of upgrading and constructing 54 Model Schools. The government managed to construct and operate 19 of the model schools.
In relation to the transport and road infrastructure sectors, the government’s expected outcomes were a far cry from what was planned. Though seven bus depots were constructed against the target of 11, since no new buses could be inducted into the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) fleet, they could not be utilised. One of the most significant projects being undertaken by the Public Works Department, the construction of phase III of the Barapullah flyover, was 52% complete, against the target of 70%. The average daily ridership of the DTC and cluster buses, according to the report of the Outcome Budget, had increased to 41.90 lakh per day against the target of 40 lakh per day. At the same time, however, the daily ridership of the Delhi Metro, which was 28 lakh in 2016-2017, had reduced to 25.7 lakh in 2017-2018, against the target of 30 lakh.
Against the target of issuing 55 lakh Pollution Under Control certificates, only 37.27 lakh were issued; 2.11 lakh fitness certificate were issued against the target of 2.85 lakh for 2017-18.
Targets L-G
Speaking about the Outcome Budget for 2018-2019, Mr. Sisodia said that the document was being prepared and would be sent to all MLAs by April-end. Mr. Sisodia targeted the L-G, saying that Ministers’ performance was assessed by the public all the time, but asked “what about the L-G, how many times does he return files”.
