Delhi Assembly goes paperless with Budget App, iPads for MLAs; CAG report on DTC tabled

New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) The Delhi Assembly on Monday took its first step towards paperless work with Speaker Vijender Gupta announcing distribution of new iPads to all legislators and uploading of all documents related to Budget 2025-26 on the Delhi Budget application.

“I wish to inform all members that all documents related to the Budget will be made available on Delhi Budget App. For this, all members will be provided new iPads that can be collected during the lunch break,” said the Speaker.

The announcement was welcomed by the members by thumping of desks.

Speaker Gupta announced that MLAs can access the Budget documents by clicking on the Budget App and the App is also available on the Playstore to download on their smartphones.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also tabled a CAG report on the financial performance of the Delhi Transport Corporation during 2024.

Copies of the CAG report were also provided to members for discussions in the House.

The report of the central auditor on DTC highlights the mounting financial losses of the public transporter which has been offering free rides to women over the past 10 years and struggling to phase out polluting, ageing vehicles with e-buses.

The CAG report points that the DTC’s losses increase by Rs 35,000 crore, rising from Rs 25,300 crore in 2015-16 to nearly Rs 60,750 crore in 2021-22.

The report also sheds light on the DTC’s failure to check losses, become profitable and modernise fare collection and security infrastructure.

The key audit findings contained in the Performance Audit Report on ‘Functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC)’ are the absence of any Business Plan or Perspective Plan, delay in procurement of buses in spite of increasing overage buses in its fleet, low fleet utilisation and productivity, deficient route planning, non-functional Automatic Fare Collection System and non-recovery of dues.

On the depletion of the DTC fleet, the report noted, “During the period 2015-23, fleet of the Corporation reduced from 4,344 (2015-16) to 3,937 buses (2022-23).”

“The Corporation could procure only 300 Electric Buses (EBs) during 2021-22 and 2022-23 despite availability of funds from the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. There was delay in the addition of EBs in the fleet for which penalty amounting to Rs 29.86 crore for delayed delivery was not imposed on the operators,” it said.

The report said, “The number of low floor overaged buses in the Corporation during 2015-22 increased from 0.13 per cent (five buses) to 17.44 per cent (656 buses) which further increased to 44.96 per cent (1.770 buses) as on 31 March 2023 of its total fleet. The proportion of overage buses would be rising further if the Corporation does not make sincere efforts to procure/add new buses.”

The critical observations of the CAG come at a time when Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Singh has announced phased introduction of 2,000 EBs in the city, starting April 1.

Hitting out at the previous AAP government’s mismanagement, the Minister vowed to make DTC profitable and turn around the public transporter from the current loss of Rs 235 crore.

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