Significant allocations for power subsidies, EV policy, public transport to tackle pollution

New Delhi: The paperless Budget presented by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday laid out extensive measures to curb the pollution of the environment in the form of projects and schemes in the environment sector, transport sector, and energy sector, with a Rs 3,090 crore allocation just for the Delhi government's flagship power subsidy programme, which significantly incentivises lower consumption of electricity. In fact, a bulk of the Rs 3,227 crore allocation for the energy sector will be spent on these subsidies.

However, the Delhi government's strides in the transport sector, especially with the launch of its Electric Vehicle policy, the FY 21-22 Budget also allocates significant amounts to ensure the environment is protected from pollution by enforcing and putting in place the infrastructure to achieve the vision of the EV policy.

The E-vehicles percentage has increased from 0.2 per cent to 2.21 per cent since the policy was launched, the Minister said adding that 72 public charging stations are already functioning which will be scaled to 500. In addition to this, the Finance Minister said that the plan is to make sure there is an electric vehicle charging station or a battery changing station every three kilometres.

The Minister said that after adding 1,000 more buses to the existing figure the fleet of buses will reach 7,693 and that its specific target of acquiring over 1,000 electric buses would further boost the city's efforts to turn electric and cut back on pollution from vehicular emissions. "The government has put a target of 11,000 bus-fleets

in Delhi's public transport,"

he said. The budget estimate for the Transport sector is Rs 9,394 cr or 13 per cent of the total budget.

The Delhi government also announced that it had extended the Special Electricity Subsidy Scheme to the lawyers' chambers within the court premises. It also announced to reduce the fixed charge for agricultural connection to Rs 20 per kWh from the earlier Rs 120 kWh.

The government has furthermore introduced the 'Delhi Solar Energy Policy' under which the process of setting up solar units is going on in most government buildings, schools, technical institutes and courts.