What has the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) achieved in last 5 years?

It’s already been 5 years since the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) was elected in the Delhi Elections. Since the time it came into power it has made several promises. Some have been kept and some are yet to be fulfilled.

AAP was formally launched on 26 November 2012, and is currently the ruling party of Delhi NCR. The founders are Arvind Kejriwal, Yogendra Yadav, Shazia Ilmi, Prashant Bhushan and Anand Kumar.

Healthcare:

The AAP government previously proposed a three tier model for its healthcare sector. They are Mohalla Clinics, Polyclinics and Hospitals. The basic medical needs of the public are taken care of by the Mohalla clinics. It has more than 200 diagnostic tests and 100 essential medicines for free. The medical needs that are bigger than basic ones is managed by the Polyclinics. It handles all the critical and life threatening surgeries. However, the AAP manifesto promised to open 1000 Mohalla clinics and 125 polyclinics.But only 450 Mohalla clinics and 25 polyclinics were actually opened. The rest were recently made after a judgement was passed by The Supreme court. The budget for the healthcare sector is of Rs. 5,735 crore which is 12% of the total budget. Other implementations like Good Samaritan Policy for the road accident victims. These operations were mostly undertaken by Minister of health and family welfare department of Government of Delhi. It’s head- Satyendar Jain. The Mohalla clinics were hugely successful gaining praise from around the country and outside.

Water:

Once BJP protested outside DJB (Delhi Jal Board) headquarters against water shortage and inflated bills. The AAP government in its manifesto stated that 20,000 liters of free water would be supplied. To those consumers who have water meter in their households. The government fulfilled this promise as over the past 5 years over 13 lac households have zero rupee water bill. In addition the DJB laid new pipelines in over 319 neglected colonies. With 11,350 km pipelines and 105 reservoirs. But according to a March 2019 report there are still more than 400 unauthorized colonies without a piped water supply. Furthermore in a sample test conducted. The result shows more than 50% water being unfit for drinking. Followed by a promise to supply clean drinking water in the next 5 years.

Education:

The Education sector of Delhi received a little over 25% of the total budget. Not only this but the government schools of Delhi under AAP topped the pass percentage in India with 90.64%. The education model is considered as one of the best in the country. The manifesto promised that 500 model schools will be built. But only 30 have been opened in the last 5 years along with 20,000 classrooms. The reason being, the allotment of land coming under the DDA. That is a part of the Modi government. Even the Maharashtra government seeks inspiration from the Delhi education model. Remarkable changes in the curriculum like the introduction of ‘Happiness’ curriculum and entrepreneurship are seen.

Transport:

The recent Scheme of making transportation free for women in DTC (Delhi Transport). By giving pink tickets and cluster buses to women to ensure their safety and convenience is a drastic improvement. The expansion of Delhi metro as well as free rides for students are being undertaken currently. The manifesto promised 5000 new DTC buses. But as of today the count of buses decreased to 3800. Therefore, 100 new buses with additional facilities like Panic buttons, CCTV and Hydraulic lifts are applied for tender within the next 6 months.

Women Security:

Delhi, which is infamously known as India’s ‘Rape’ capital has had major issues in the past regarding women security. The National record of Crime bureau revealed that Delhi women face high level of violence. To control these growing problem a ‘Safe Delhi Campaign’ was initiated to make a change. The bus Marshall’s and Moholla Marshall’s prove to be a success. Along with the 1.4 lac CCTV installation. More than 210,000 Street lights are to be installed all over Delhi in 4 months. With rest of the law and order coming under the Modi government not much can be said.

Electricity:

The Kejriwal government promised 200 units of free electricity in households which was successful. In addition, a subsidy of 50% is provided. In march 2018 the power tariffs were bar down to 32%. The government also announced to install WiFi hot spots across the city. The vehicle policy of Delhi introduces electric cars with the aim to make all cars electric by 2024.

Pollution:

The pollution in Delhi has become a huge calamity for its citizens. No action yet done to clean the Yamuna river. The Air quality dipping to ‘very poor’ a lot of times. The government is not taking any major steps. Other than this, 5 million masks were distributed to children and a pollution-free Diwali campaign was organized. These are just small steps towards a monstrous problem. The largest sewage plant which was inaugurated last year hasn’t been completed yet.

Economy:

A huge difference shows up in Delhi’s economy GDP in 2016-17 being 7.5%  which rose by 1.1% in 2018-19.  It’s one of the largest growing industries in India. The real estate is also attracting more investors. One of the flaws being fall in Direct Taxes. But the Tax collection in Delhi saw a growth of 17.6% in 2018-19. Also the government budget has doubled to 60,000 crores in 5 years. The reason behind this stated by the CM Arvind Kejriwal is less corruption and more educated population. It has also increased the efficiency of the government drastically.

Overall Analysis:

We can neither confirm nor deny the developments and downfalls of the Delhi government in the last 5 years. There were some unique schemes too. Like  the ‘Farishtey’ scheme to help accident victims, free WiFi and Doorstep delivery has changed Delhi for the good. As for some more serious issues like Pollution and Crime, only the coming years will tell the future of Delhi.

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