Delhi, India’s seat of power for centuries, is known for its rich history, magnificent monuments, lush gardens, vibrant culture and a smorgasbord of ethnicities. Today, Delhi has many more attributes that it is known for, including the transformational leadership and reforms by its seventh Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). There has been a sea change in healthcare, power distribution, education and infrastructure in just 8 years!
Swimming pools and well-maintained classrooms in schools, wide and pothole-free roads, continuous, affordable power supply and accessible Mohalla clinics offering primary healthcare welcome you when you look at the naya New Delhi. Spearheaded by a Ramon Magsaysay award winner, an IIT graduate and former bureaucrat at the Income Tax Department, Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet of like-minded leaders, the city has scaled remarkable heights in a corruption-free, transparent, approachable rule that keep the requirements of its citizens central.
WHEN AAP WAS CATAPULATED POWER…
2012 was the year that witnessed the 2G spectrum scam, the horrifying Nirbhaya rape case, the Commonwealth Games shenanigans and a continuous steep rise in prices and electricity tariff. A change was needed to rock the city back to its senses; it came in the form of the India Against Corruption movement that catapulted the Aam Aadmi Party to power with its lofty promises that included safety of women, assured piped water, affordable electricity and corruption-free governance. At the helm of it was the party’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who had a track record as a social activist and known for his contribution to the Right to Information Act and establishment of Parivartan to address grievances in the public distribution system. This ordinary boy next door with an unsullied track record, instilled confidence in the citizens of Delhi, rich and poor alike, to vote the AAP to power in the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly Election with the party winning 67 of the 70 seats and again in 2020, winning 62 out of 70.
True, work on several projects including the iconic Delhi Metro Rail and the enviable road infrastructure began prior to AAP’s advent around the time of the Commonwealth Games 2012 when Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister. These mammoth initiatives could not have taken shape without the blessing and coordinated work of the Union government that poured money on Delhi. Still AAP spectacularly transformed Delhi and sets it as an example for other states to emulate. Let’s have a look at this:
Economic Indicators
New Delhi’s economic indicators including revenues and expenditure have been steadily increasing since the Aam Aadmi Party took charge in 2014. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi at during 2014-15 current prices was Rs 451,154 crore which has grown to Rs 798,310 crore at current prices in 2020-21, a 45 per cent increase. Delhi’s per capita income during 2014-15 at current prices was at Rs 2.41 lakh; per capita income during 2020-21 at current prices was Rs 354,004. The average per capita income of Delhi is almost three times the per capita income of an Indian. In line with its social goals, priority sectors in Delhi include education, health and transport. In 2020-21, the education sector has continued to be the priority sector with 23.83 per cent share in the budget followed by transport (14.67 per cent), medical & public health (13.39 per cent), social security & welfare (13.11 per cent), housing & urban development (12.62 per cent) and water supply & sanitation (12.62 per cent). These accounted for approximately 90.68 per cent of the Budget Allocation for 2020-21.
Re-defining education…
Can you imagine an Education minister visiting a different government school every single day? Manish Sisodia, Deputy CM and Education Minister of New Delhi, did so while the new educational reforms were underway in New Delhi’s schools. With quarter of the state’s annual budget dedicated to education, with the vision that quality education for all is a fundamental right, innovative interventions with close monitoring and implementation have been the real syllabus for change at Delhi’s government schools.
FOUR-pronged approach…
The reforms took place with a four-pronged approach: First was the focus on upgrading dilapidated school infrastructure that depressed the morale of students and teachers alike. It was not just the classrooms that saw a makeover but also the sports sections, libraries, laboratories and lavatories that made the entire atmosphere both student and education friendly. From Rs 6208 crore in 2015-16, to Rs 16,377 crore in the 2021-22 budget, fund allotment to education has seen a steady increase. The first impression always makes a difference and this cleaning up changed everything. Second, the clear and early understanding that a trained, empowered and committed workforce would go a long way in imparting quality education to the students. Government teachers and principals who often didn’t stir out of Delhi, were given exposure to training at iconic institutions such as Cambridge University, National Institute of Education, Singapore and IIM- Ahmedabad. This, coupled with peer to peer learning, encouraged the faculty to excel in their teaching and learning methodologies. Almost 1400 teachers attended, for the first time in their lives, such training programmes. Third was the financial empowerment of the Principal of the school and School Management Committee to spend a fixed sum of money to better the school. This could range from a new set of library books or even hiring temporary teachers for some subjects. Parents were actively engaged as a part of the SMCs and regular parent teacher meetings were conducted. With several parents never having stepped foot in a classroom before, this sort of engagement made parents a part of the educational journey of the child! Fourth was an analysis of the syllabus and the failure rates in classes 9 and 10 which led to syllabus reforms and to understanding concepts vs rote learning.
Chunauti initiative
The ‘Chunauti’ initiative for children in classes 6-9, reiterated concepts for slow learners in maths, language, reading and writing so that they rose to be at par with their peers. According to a report that appeared in Indian Express, the number of students in grades 6-9, who were able to read at the appropriate grade level, increased from 48 per cent in 2018 to 63 per cent in 2019. Numeracy skills too jumped from 56 per cent in 2018 to 73 per cent in 2019. There was also an inclusion of two distinct and notable curricula – the happiness curriculum that focused on the emotional well-being of the child and the entrepreneurship curriculum that provided a platform to kindle new ideas and to implement these! Through these initiatives, education went beyond books to holistic life skills and learning.
The results speak volumes. In 2021, the overall pass percentage of Delhi government schools stood at 97.52 per cent. In class XII, the pass percentage was 99.9 per cent. Overall, what makes this whole system stand apart is the focus on the student and the teachers – the key stakeholders in education along with parents with little interference of the bureaucracy and red tape. With the National Education Policy laid out in 2020 being futuristic in shaping Indian education, the Delhi education system would fit right in and adapt to the changes. These Government schools are now as sought after as the elite Delhi Public Schools!
hefty subsidies – yet discoms are profitable!
One of the initial poll promises of the AAP was subsidised electricity and water supply. In 2014, Arvind Kejriwal faced a tough challenge – Delhi was on the verge of a blackout with no funds to purchase power – after scooping the citizens pockets dry with the continuous hikes in power tariffs for close to 5 years! In an article in The Hindustan Times, Kejriwal stated: “the Delhi Government inherited a system plagued by years of corruption, incentivised inefficiency and large-scale over-reporting of losses. Delhi’s discoms reported regulatory assets (dues owed by the people of Delhi to the discoms) of Rs 11,406 crore the year we were elected.” Efficient mechanisms, penalties for discoms with unscheduled power outages, 16-17 per cent augmentation of transformer capacity, investment in power infrastructure in the city were just a few measures by which the situation slowly but steadily changed. In addition, the Delhi government created a Lifeline Electricity scheme under which all Delhi households consuming up to 200 units of power will get a zero bill. Between 201 to 400 units, consumers will get a substantial subsidy upwards of 50 per cent. Today, “Delhi has the lowest tariffs, supplies uninterrupted and reliable electricity and at the same time, discoms are turning a profit,” says a proud Kejriwal.
Healthcare for all
New Delhi is home to some of the most reputed hospitals in the country but still faces a shortage of beds owing to the surge of patients that stream in, not only from the city but the neighbouring states to access better treatment. Delhi boasts of 57,000-plus hospital beds. More than half these beds are in government-run hospitals. Delhi government runs 38 hospitals with about 12,000 beds, while the city corporations operate 51 facilities with 3500 beds. AIIMS, Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospitals come under the Centre. Delhi has nearly 3 doctors for every 1000 people against the international benchmark of 1:1000. There is also a shortage of basic medical facilities including lab facilities to serve this large population. The poor face innumerable difficulties in accessing proper health and medical care, especially in emergencies.
Mohalla Clinics and more
Mohalla Clinics (Community Clinics) have been set up to reform urban health service delivery, address health inequities and strengthen primary healthcare. There are currently 450 such clinics spanning New Delhi serving close to 16 million. This number runs short on its target and poll promise of 1000 clinics by 2020; nevertheless, these clinics are a boon to those who scramble for basic health facilities. The clinics work from 7am – 7pm with doctors present in shifts and each treating on average 150 patients a day! These were predominantly set up in slum areas where rural and urban poor have easy access, free of cost. These clinics are run with standardised protocols. Each compact clinic comes with air conditioning, basic refrigeration and medicine storage facilities which have impressed senior medical practitioners and the UN alike!
Space crunch…
Despite the success these clinics have seen, they have come under harsh criticism during the pandemic owing to their small structures where no more than 2 persons can maintain social distancing inside and not equipped for testing, screening or treating Covid19 patients. But things improved fast: not too different from urban primary health centres in concept, but better equipped in terms of equipment and professionals, these clinics have created a dent in Delhi’s unequal healthcare system. Future clinics are to solve the biggest problem the city faces –land crunch. These will be set up in shipping containers that cost just Rs 20 lakh and take 4 days to commence!
Aside from the above changes, the AAP government has steadily focused on uplifting the lives and standard of living of slum communities by improving roadways, electrifying rural areas and ensuring clean drinking water. It is said that 78 per cent of slum population now have access to piped drinking water reducing the risk of diseases and improving health indices in the society.
Pollution, congestion, commuting concerns…
While the Aam Aadmi Party has breathed a lot of fresh air, there are still areas that require attention. First, environment regulation and policy to curb air pollution that chokes the city. The odd-even drive scheme had short term impact and there needs to be holistic long term solutions to the problem that stems not only from the city but most from its neighbours too. A critical second element that needs attention is the improvement in on-ground public transport. Cleaning the Yamuna is yet another initiative that has not taken off. It’s not clear as to how Kejriwal can rewind subsidies on water and power with their mounting costs and the need for long term sustainability of such utilities. Skilling the educated and expanding their employment opportunities remain a major challenge. Handling the more powerful neighbouring states and the omnipresent Central government is in itself a full time job for the CM.
The AAP definitely is on the right track towards change, making Delhi a model city for many. With the party looking to expand its wings in other states, it would be interesting to see how in more complex, less urban, less-educated societies the same success could be achieved. The aam aadmi has indeed become the protagonist in Kejriwal’s government without the ideological logjams seen in communist or socialist governments. This experiment could be the pointer to the future of governance in India and elsewhere.
