Delhi's budgetary prov to go up for Games-related projects

With the aim to ensure timely completion of all Commonwealth Games-related projects and overcome any paucity of funds, the Delhi Government has decided to enhance its plan outlay from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 11,300 crore in revised estimates for the current financial year -- 2009-2010.

The total budgetary provision for the current year will go up from Rs 23,043 crore to Rs 25,760 crore. There will be an increase of Rs 1408 crore in non-plan outlay, an increase of Rs 9 crore in centrally-sponsored projects. This was decided in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, which was attended by Finance Minister A K Walia, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary (Finance) J P Singh and other senior officers of the Finance and Planning Departments.

Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, the state Finance Minister said an amount of Rs 800 crore alone has been increased under the Head of Roads and Bridges, which includes construction of flyovers, bridges and widening and improvement of roads, particularly those relating to the Commonwealth Games. The Plan outlay for the Public Works Department (PWD) has been increased from Rs 1471 cr to Rs 1975 cr and for the the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from Rs 345 cr to Rs 635 cr. The allocation for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has been increased from Rs 340 cr to Rs 619 cr to enable it to purchase more new buses. The outlay of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has also gone up by Rs 227 cr ie from Rs 1365 crore to Rs 1592 crore.