96% unauthorised colonies comes under regular water supply: Economic survey

About ninety-six per cent of unauthorised colonies here have regular water supply and around 93 per cent households access to piped water supply, according to the Delhi Economic Survey 2022-23.

The report, which was tabled in the Delhi assembly by Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday, said since January 2014, around 21.39 lakh consumers have benefited from free water of up to 20 kilolitres.

"In a remarkable achievement, GNCTD (Delhi government) has been able to provide regular water supply to unserved and under-served areas, and has covered unauthorised colonies, which is about 96 per cent of total unauthorised colonies in Delhi and efforts have been made to cover remaining unauthorised colonies," the survey noted.

"The Delhi government ensured free lifeline water up to 20 kilolitres to every household having metered water connection and around 21.39 lakhs consumers have been benefited under this scheme since its inception," the Delhi Economic Survey (DES) said.

The priority areas of the Arvind Kejriwal government in the water and sanitation sector is to augment water supply from sources outside Delhi such as Renuka Dam in Himachal Pradesh and Kishau Dam and Lakhwar-Vyasi Dam in Uttarakhand, getting underground water from Yamuna floodplains by way of recharging ponds, and augmenting internal sources, including through recycling of water, water harvesting, plugging leakages of water, reducing non-revenue water through proper water accounting and installation of bulk meters, according to the survey.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has improved its governance and undertaken a number of measures for proper demand-side planning, efficient management of water distribution, water audit and accounting, and a transparent tanker water distribution system using GPS and GPRS, it said.

"About 93 per cent households of Delhi now have access to piped water supply. Water production during summer season is being maintained at 956 MGD per day consistently. Water is supplied through existing water supply network comprising 15,383-km long pipelines and more than 117 underground reservoirs (UGRs)," the DES said.

Total of 397 new water tankers with stainless steel containers fitted with GPS have been engaged in improving the water tanker supply delivery system in the city, the it noted.

The DJB has initiated projects for installation of flow metres for water auditing and streamlined its system for obtaining water meters for metering of unmetered supply of water.

The report said the board is carrying out rejuvenation of 67 water bodies out of which rejuvenation work at 42 water bodies has been completed and tender for 25 will be called shortly.

The work of creating a water body at Timarpur oxidation pond, Dwarka, Pappankala, Rohini and Nilothi, and revival of Roshanara Lake is being taken up. The process to implement the proposals was started in September 2018, it said.

The Delhi government has the highest budgetary allocation for the education sector among all states, with 20.5 per cent of the budget estimates earmarked for the department, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2022-23.

The survey report that was presented in the Assembly on Monday, also mentioned that the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University increased its intake capacity to 7,933 (during 2022-23) as compared to 6,258 during 2021-22.

It further mentioned that the government schools recorded a pass percentage of 98 per cent in class 12 and 97 per cent in class 10 during the academic session 2021-22.

The survey also said that 32,406 students got admission via centralised online draw of lots for admission under Economically Weaker Section and Disadvantaged Group (EWS & DG) category for the academic session 2022-23.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government's outcome budget which was also presented in the assembly on Monday, said that more than 90 per cent of government schools have been marking the attendance of their students online every day.

CCTV Cameras have been commissioned in 83 per cent of Delhi government schools and 11 new Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSE) have been added to the existing schools during 2022-23, it said.

The Business Blasters programme provided seed money of Rs 2,000 each to 2 lakh students and generated 41,000 new business ideas in 2022-23, according to the outcome budget.

Delhi is one of the key arrival destinations for both foreign and domestic travellers and around 6.06 lakh Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) was recorded in the capital during 2021, according to Economic Survey 2022-23.

According to the report, Delhi has also secured 3rd rank in Total Foreign Tourist Visits in 2021 with a total share of 9.50 per cent as per India Tourism Statistics at a Glance-2022.

"The capital of India is one of the key arrival destinations for both foreign and domestic tourists. The state is among the top tourist destinations in the country. Approx 6.06 lakh (39.70 per cent) FTAs in Delhi has been recorded during 2021 as per India Tourism Statistics at a Glance-2022," the economic survey stated.

Besides New Delhi and Mumbai, the top eight international check posts for foreign tourist arrivals are Haridaspur (8.73), Chennai (7.87), Bangalore (6.72), Hyderabad (5.65), Cochin (3.96) and Kolkata (2.85), it said.

The number of domestic tourists visiting Delhi had been rising continuously, it added.

"Delhi secured third rank in Total Foreign Tourist Visits in 2021 with a total share of 9.50 per cent as per India Tourism Statistics at a Glance-2022. The capital boasts of some great heritage sites within and near the city. Delhi also generates income from the tourism sector," the survey said.

According to the survey, the number of domestic tourists visiting Delhi has also been rising continuously. It was about 1.85 crore in 2012 and 3.65 crores in 2019, but declined to 1.06 crore in 2021, it said.

The per capita income of Delhi at current prices reached the level of Rs 3,89,529 in 2021-22 as compared to Rs 3,31,112 in 2020-21, it said.

"The Advance Estimate of Per Capita Income of Delhi at current prices during 2022-23 estimated at Rs 4,44,768 registering a growth of 14.18 per cent over the previous year," it said.

Delhi's per capita income has always been around 2.6 times higher when compared to the national average, both at current and constant prices, it noted.

The per capita income of Delhi rose by 14.18 per cent to Rs 4,44,768 in 2022-23 at current prices compared to Rs 3,89,529 in 2021-22, according to the Delhi's Economic Survey tabled in the Assembly.

The per capita income of Delhi has been around 2.6 times higher as compared to the national average, both at current and constant prices. It was Rs 3,31,112 in 2020-21.

The tax collection of the Delhi government registered a "tremendous" growth rate of 36 per cent during 2021-22 (provisional) as compared to the negative growth of 19.53 per cent in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 pandemic, the survey tabled by state finance minister Kailash Gahlot said.

However, the AAP government's outstanding debt rose to Rs 41,481.50 crore as of March 31, 2022, from Rs 29,608.27 crore in 2011-12, the survey stated.

"Overall economic activity in Delhi has recovered faster compared to the national level, past the pre-pandemic levels. In the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, a sharp recovery of real GSDP of Delhi with a growth of 9.14 per cent and 9.18 per cent, respectively is based on a low base effect and inherent strengths of the economy," it said.

The advance estimate of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi at current prices during 2022-23 is likely to attain a level of Rs 10,43,759 crore, showing a growth rate of 15.38 per cent over 2021-22.

The Advance Estimate of GSDP of Delhi at constant prices during 2022-23 was recorded at Rs 6,52,649 crore, showing a growth rate of 9.18 per cent over 2021-22, it said.

The city's economy is predominantly service sector-oriented with its share of contribution to Gross State Value Added (at current prices) at 84.84 per cent during 2022-23 followed by the contribution of the secondary sector at 12.53 per cent and the primary sector at 2.63 per cent.

Delhi has maintained its revenue surplus that increased to Rs 3,270 crore during 2021-22 (provisional) as compared to Rs 1,450 crore in 2020-21, stated the economic survey. Delhi's revenue surplus was 0.36 per cent of GSDP during 2021-22 and 0.73 per cent during 2022-23 (budgetary estimate), it said.

Delhi government has been working with an aim to transform Delhi to a world-class city and to fulfil the aspiration of its citizen by making it an inclusive, equitable and livable global city, said the report.

The transport sector has been allocated a major share of about 20 per cent of the total budget allocation of schemes, programmes and projects, followed by Education, 17 per cent on water supply and sanitation, 15 per cent and medical and public health, 13 per cent, in 2022-23, it added.

The total number of vehicles on the roads of the national capital has declined by more than 35 per cent since the city government banned plying of overage vehicles, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi, 2022-23, report.

According to it, the total number of motor vehicles on Delhi roads in 2021-22 was 79.18 lakh, a 35.38 per cent decrease since the Delhi government banned diesel vehicles aged over 10 years and petrol vehicles which are more than 15 years old.

The Supreme Court in 2018 banned in Delhi diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 and 15 years, respectively. It had said that vehicles plying in violation of the order would be impounded. A 2014 order of the National Green Tribunal bars vehicles older than 15 years to be parked in public places.

The report noted that the annual growth of vehicles in Delhi fell from 8.13 per cent in 2005-06 to 3.03 per cent in 2020-21. However, during the same period, the number of vehicles per thousand population increased considerably from 317 to 655.

"Delhi is a hub for personal motorized vehicles in India. Total motorised vehicles in Delhi are 122.53 lakh. Car and jeeps accounted for around 28 per cent of the total registered motorized vehicles, whereas two-wheelers are about 67 per cent of total registered vehicles," the report stated.

The Economic Survey report also said there is a contradiction regarding the actual number of vehicles plying on Delhi's roads as a large number of vehicles registered in the national capital are plying in NCR areas and vice versa.

"The transport department is making efforts to estimate the actual number of vehicles in Delhi by taking into account vehicles that have outlived their life span due to any account, transferred to and from other states etc," it said.

The survey report said the government is providing fare concessions to students, senior citizens, the disabled and freedom fighters in DTC and Cluster Buses. The concession amount is reimbursed by GNCTD.

The Government of NCT of Delhi has reimbursed Rs 78.82 crore for concessional passes during 2020-21, it said.

The free travel facility for women in DTC and cluster buses started on October 29, 2019. During 2021-22, women passengers availed 13.04 crore free trips in DTC and 12.69 crore in cluster buses. The daily average passenger ridership in DTC was 15.62 lakh and 9.87 lakh in cluster buses during the 2021-22 fiscal.

There are 63 bus depots and 16 bus terminals in operation. DTC with 4010 buses on 461 city routes and seven NCR routes is the largest public transport entity in the national capital region.

Besides this, 3,319 buses are in operation under the cluster scheme. There are 88 buses on 27 routes for night bus service. Ladies' Special Buses are also being plied during peak hours on 30 routes, the economic survey report stated.

As on September 30, 2022, 7,938 marshals were deployed in DTC and 3,296 in cluster buses for women's safety and security.

GNCTD has decided to engage pure electric buses in Delhi which will go a long way in reducing overall vehicular emissions. Nearly 300 electric buses have been inducted up to December last year under phase II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme to DTC.

Currently, 47 services of the transport department have been completely switched to faceless delivery mode and more than 26 lakh applicants have benefitted from this programme till December last year, the Economic Survey report stated.

The operational route of Delhi Metro, including the Airport Line and Rapid Metro, was 360.975 km during 2021-22 and the average daily passenger journey in Delhi Metro was recorded at 25.16 lakh, it said.