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DELHI: City of our Dreams & Aspirations
This is the city of our dreams, hopes and aspirations; Delhi lives
in our hearts as much as we live in here. It is much more than just
another metro-city;
the seat of power, the magnificent roads, lush green cover, historical
monuments coupled with modern living and latest trends, make it
very special. It is to the sheer credits of this city that it assimilates
all cultures and traditions, and gives them a flavour, which is the
essence of Delhi.
Talk
about the glitter and aroma of Chandni Chowk, the ancient semi-circular
pillared promenade of the Connaught
place, the sky-piercing Qutub
Minar, the Lodhi Gardens, the Red
Fort or..the list of unending. The city has seen a lot of transformation
in the past six-seven a lot of transformation in the past six-seven
years; a lot of flyovers have come up, the road have improved plus
the Metro has added another feather in the cap. However, one can find
a harmonious coexistence between the vintage past and the progressive
present. There is no denying that there are problems looming large
in the face of the government, and it would take a lot of hard work
to make the situation 'ideal'. Never the less efforts are being made
and the government is working hard to make Delhi a well-managed and
dynamic city. Let us therefore try and find out, based on certain
facts, the kind of development our Delhi has experienced in the past
few years.
The infrastructure index is based on thirteen individual indicators. They capture different facets of infrastructure development, covering areas like power, telecom, transport, irrigation, financials and education infrastructures. Thus, the index is a broad measure of the overall infrastructure development in the states. For Delhi, the index stands at 800. This means that - on an average basis - the availability of basis infrastructure in Delhi is nearly eight times higher than that in the country as a whole. Sounds like music to the ears! This means that Delhi has a far superior infrastructure than other states on most of the indicators. Its overall index, however, is high mainly due to the developed state of its transport and communication infrastructure.
These are the findings of the Economic Survey
of Delhi for the year 2005-06, which paints a rosy picture
on the financial health of the city-state. The survey provides analytical
data for a large number of sectors like public finance, prices, environment,
industries, energy, transport, urban development, sanitation, education,
health, social welfare, rural development, trade and commerce.
The survey indicators the present fiscal status of Delhi, which is almost at par with full-fleged States. Well all is not perfect; the scenario is rim in sector like Health.
Transport: The total number of vehicles
has almost doubled in the last 10 years. While only 26.30 lakh vehicles
were registered by the year 1995-96, there are 48.30 lakh vehicles
registered till the Survey was completed in the March this year. It
would touch 50 lakhs in the next few months.
Road network: There are six different
agencies maintaining the roads in the city - NHAI, PWD, MCD, NDMC,
DDA and Delhi Containment Boards. The road
network in Delhi was 31,183 kms in March 2006 (3.7 times),
the number of vehicles has increased from 2.14 lakhs in 1971-72 to
48.30 lakhs (23 times).
"The imbalance between growth of vehicles and road network has led to heavy traffic congestion and reduced vehicle speed," the Economic Survey pointed out.
Migration: The Survey points out that
of the total migration in Delhi, UP sent 40.05 percent in the decade
between 1991-2001. This was followed by Bihar with 19.09 with 19.09
(percent of all migrants in the decade. Officials, however, point
out that in the last five years after the Survey was conducted, Bihar
matches UP as far as migration to the city is concerned.
Education: The per capital expenditure
on education in Delhi
is Rs. 1445.20 at present. It is much higher than other states where
the expenditure is Rs. 752.32. Over 93,000 teachers were teaching
around 3.02 million children enrolled in 4862 schools in the year
2004-05.
Health: The per capita expenditure
of Delhi on health was Rs. 617 as compared to Rs. 189 at the national
level. The total bed capacity of the medical institutions (private
and government) in Delhi was 33,030 on December 31, 2005. Number of
beds per thousand people comes to 2.08 in the city. This has come
down from 2.25 in the year 1982. According to the recommendations
of the World Health Organisation, this should be 5 per thousand.
Finances: Unlike the other states,
there was a fiscal surplus of Rs. 245 crores in 2005-06. The outstanding
block loans of Delhi government now stand cleared. The grant received
by Delhi in the lieu of share in central taxes remained stagnant at
Rs. 325 crore for the last five years.
Source: Hindustan Times |
