By IANS
New Delhi : With 2010 Commonwealth Games in the national capital in mind and to fund a proposed scientific institution, the Planning Commission Wednesday gave its nod for an outlay of Rs.100 billion ($2.5 billion) for this city-state during the ensuing fiscal.
“There is a need to focus on the cleaning of Yamuna river and overall upgrade of infrastructure facilities in the city in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010,” Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
“Which is why Rs.10 billion more has been given to the government,” Ahluwalia told reporters soon after a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and senior officials.
The city government’s major initiatives for the next fiscal will be in upgrading the transport facility by over Rs.26 billion, followed by the adding capacity to power units at an estimated cost of over Rs.6 billion, officials said.
“Over Rs.50 billion will be spent on upgrading services and utilities like water and sanitation, education, public health, environment and other social welfare programmes,” a senior government official said.
“More than Rs.12 billion will be spent on improving water supply and sanitation alone.”
Since the city is the hub of higher education in the country, the government is planning to set up a university of science and technology in the next fiscal. At present, the state government runs the Guru Govind Singh Indraprasth University.
In an attempt to address the city’s growing electricity needs and also keep the environment clean, the government has proposed to set up a new power station at a cost of Rs.1.1 billion and close the Indraprasth thermal power station.
Dikshit led Congress party government has been under attack by the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly ignoring the problem of water and power in the city.
The BJP legislators have been raking up this twin issue in the ongoing budget session of the state assembly since it commenced Monday and also disrupted the proceedings of the house.