Rs 1,000 to Delhi women an election gimmick? Kejriwal govt says scheme from October

New Delhi: The Delhi government scheme under which eligible women will get Rs 1,000 every month turned out to be a gimmick for Lok Sabha elections as Finance Minister Atishi Singh Marlena said that the scheme is likely to be rolled out in September-October.

Atishi on Monday presented her maiden budget with a proposed outlay of Rs 76,000 crore in the Delhi Assembly.

In an interview with PTI on Tuesday, she said the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana will be notified after the general elections and expressed hope that the scheme will roll out in September or October.

"The notification for the scheme will happen after the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha polls ends. Afterwards, some formalities such filling up forms, verification and processing of bank accounts will have to be done. My understanding is that by September-October, the first deposits of the honorarium will begin," she told PTI.

Women who are not Income Tax payers, are registered voters of Delhi and are not government employees or availing of the benefits of any government pension scheme will be eligible for the honorarium.

"There is no ceiling on the number of beneficiaries. All eligible women will avail of it and our estimate is that around 45 lakh beneficiaries are eligible," Atishi said.

"This is a very good scheme. We have kept this scheme dependant on market forces, meaning those who need it will avail of it," she said.

Asked whether the scheme will translate into more votes for the AAP, the minister said women in Delhi have always been the party's voters.

"Since we first contested elections in 2013, women have been staunch supporters of the AAP. At that time, they departed from their family voting patterns and voted for us. They have voted for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as our chief minister has consistently worked for them. If a government works for the people, why should they not vote for it?" she said.

Another key scheme that will be rolled out in the 2024-25 fiscal is the second phase of the Business Blasters scheme in Delhi government-run universities.

At present, Rs 2,000 seed money is given to Class 11 and Class 12 students under the scheme.

In the second phase, the scheme will be expanded to state-run universities in the national capital. The government has allocated Rs 15 crore in its annual budget for the scheme's implementation in universities.

The Business Blasters scheme has already been passed by the Cabinet, she said, adding it might get notified before the Model Code of Conduct for the polls come into effect.

"We are going to give a seed money of Rs 25,000 for start-ups from the new academic session. The difference between the Business Blasters scheme in schools and colleges is that in colleges, the students will have a real opportunity to start businesses," Atishi said.

"The number of beneficiaries will depend on viable ideas that could lead to a start-up. Our estimate is that around 1,000 teams, which will be given seed money of Rs 25,000 each, will come up across our universities," she claimed.

The proposed outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the 2024-25 financial year is a decline from the Rs 78,800 crore allocated in the preceding fiscal. The allocation for transport and health sectors have also witnessed a decline.

"Last year's budget's Revised Estimate stood at Rs 74,900 crore. There has been an increase in the Budget Estimate for 2024-25, which is Rs 76,000 crore. There is no money from the central pool of taxes to Delhi," Atishi said.

Explaining further, she said there are two stages of financial devolution -- Centre to states and states to local bodies.

"We do not get a share in central taxes from the Centre but we devolve funds to local bodies," she said.

Atishi said the allocation to the transport sector is lower this time because a major chunk of money in last year's budget was allocated to the electrification of bus depots, which incurred a huge expense.

"It is mostly done. That is the one reason the allocation for the transport sector seems to have been reduced. In the health sector, also, if you see as a percentage of budget, it is not such a major drop," she said.

Speaking about why certain schemes such as for cloud kitchens, revamp of 1,400 kilometres of roads announced in the previous budget could not be rolled out, she said schemes take time to implement.

The AAP is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in an alliance with the Congress as part of the opposition INDIA bloc.

"The BJP MPs have not done anything in the last five years. We are in a direct fight with the BJP in Delhi. We believe that we are in a strong position because the people appreciate the work we have done," she said.

The AAP is contesting four of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats.

The party has fielded Somnath Bharti from New Delhi, Kuldeep Kumar from East Delhi, Sahiram Pehelwan from South Delhi and Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi.