Managing Delhi’s Future: Obstacles and Opportunities for the New Government

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The Delhi elections, conducted in February 2025, launched a new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to power. The mandate delivered by the Delhi voters for the incumbent state government was clear and overwhelming. It found additional comfort and support from a friendly government of India, and thereby, as they say, crafting a “double-engine” government. Furthermore, a few days after the Delhi elections, three councillors switched parties to join the BJP, giving the party a majority in the town hall of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC). This essentially meant that, in political parlance, Delhi has now a ‘triple-engine government’ with the same majority party coalition at the central, state and local levels, with no obstacles in delivering the assurances given to the people of Delhi.

The mandate delivered by the Delhi voters for the incumbent state government was clear and overwhelming.

The state of Delhi, hemmed in on three sides by the state of Haryana and on the east by the state of Uttar Pradesh, covers a geographical area of 1483 km². Of this, 369.35 km² is designated as rural (24.90 percent) and 1113.65 km² as urban (75.1 percent). From 300 villages in 1961, their number came down to 165 in 2001 and 112 in 2011. It is also very significant that Delhi has grown rapidly in population, moving from 1.74 million in 1951 to 16.78 million in 2011. The World Population Review puts Delhi’s population at 33.80 million in 2024, second only to Tokyo. By 2030, its population is projected to reach 38.93 million, becoming the world’s most populous city. The Delhi government, therefore, has the onerous task of managing the national capital, which is slated to become the largest global city as it ends its current term.

Strangely, the BJP manifesto for the Delhi election called the ‘Viksit Delhi Sankalp Patra 2025’, had a surfeit of dole-outs targeting specific groups of Delhi citizens and a shortage of civic targets that addressed the city’s civic challenges. Among the 16 assurances spelt out in the manifesto were the continuation of existing schemes that were initiated by the outgoing government, financial assistance of INR2,500 per month to women from poor families, assistance of INR21,000 and six nutritional kits to every pregnant woman, LPG cylinders for INR500 to women from poor families and a free cylinder on the occasion of Holi and Deepawali. Furthermore, apart from the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, which provides medical cover of INR 5 lakhs, the state government guaranteed additional cover of INR 5 lakhs. Senior citizens above 70 years of age would get free OPD and diagnostic services, a pension of INR 2,500 (for those between 60 and 70 years) and INR 3,000 for citizens above 70, widows, differently abled and destitute.

The state government will double the number of street vendor beneficiaries and ensure the registration of all eligible farmers who will receive annual assistance of INR 9,000.

Meals would be provided in ‘Atal canteens’ at INR 5, free kindergarten to post-graduation education to poor students in Delhi’s government institutions, and one-time financial assistance of INR 15,000 for preparing for competitive examinations. In the same vein, a monthly stipend of INR 1,000 would be given to scheduled caste students pursuing technical and vocational courses in technical institutions, and welfare boards would be established for all auto-rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers, and domestic workers. These will provide life insurance up to INR 10 lakhs, accident insurance up to INR 5 lakhs, scholarships to their children for higher education and paid maternity leave for six months to all domestic workers. The state government will double the number of street vendor beneficiaries and ensure the registration of all eligible farmers who will receive annual assistance of INR 9,000. Among these 16 assurances, there is one summary and sweeping mention of civic services—the government will find effective solutions to Delhi’s health, traffic, electricity, water and transport problems by collaborating with neighbouring states, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation, and the central government.

Whereas the Sankalp Patra was essentially an elaborate extension of the freebie culture, the manifesto, to be fair, does mention issues of civic, social and physical infrastructure. It talks of affordable healthcare and clean water for all, a pollution-free Delhi, better safety and security and the provision of basic municipal services. The manifesto also acknowledges the problem of extreme pollution in Delhi and the Yamuna River having been turned into a polluted drain. It also recounts the mismanagement of the government voted out and promises a world-class infrastructure, a clean environment and excellent urban services. It assures the Delhi citizens of good governance. At the same time, it promises the regularisation of 1,700 unauthorised colonies and full ownership rights to all of them. Women empowerment receives special mention, and so does the welfare of senior citizens, health, education and youth empowerment. It has also not ignored the special needs of transgenders, differently abled, ex-servicemen and the Sikh community.

The manifesto also acknowledges the problem of extreme pollution in Delhi and the Yamuna River having been turned into a polluted drain.

However, among the formidable challenges that the state would face, the two most difficult are the issues of Delhi’s air pollution and restoring the Yamuna River. Delhi has acquired the unenviable reputation of consistently figuring in the list of most polluted cities in the world and its air is turning into a major killer on account of respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases. Although some gains were made in the past years, a study revealed that 2024 marked the rise of air pollution levels once again in Delhi and warned the city about heightened risk from rising air pollution. The study advocated that the Delhi administration needed to move beyond reactive emergency measures during winter when air pollution was at its worst. It recommended year-round systemic changes to cut emissions and a strong compliance framework. The urgency in tackling the city’s seriously hazardous air pollution was evident when the Supreme Court ordered the closure of schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) last November and the implementation of rigorous anti-pollution steps under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage IV. Come winter 2025, the Delhi administration would face severe criticism if it were seen to have not taken remedial steps in the interim. The problem has been thoroughly studied and the remedial measures are well known. What is required is the political and administrative resolve to enforce a bunch of decisions, some of which may hurt the generators of pollution.

The cleaning of the Yamuna River will be a further daunting challenge. Sewage discharge into the river for decades has reduced the river to a drain, virtually killing the river. However, cleaning the Yamuna was a vital poll assurance given by the ruling party to the Delhi citizens. Reportedly, the government of India has started a three-year cleaning programme under the ‘Yamuna Master Plan’. The Plan comprises a four-fold strategy comprising the removal of trash and silt from the river, simultaneous cleaning of major drains, optimising the output of existing sewage treatment plants (STPs) and constructing new STPs to treat surplus untreated water.

The cleaning of the Yamuna River will be a further daunting challenge. Sewage discharge into the river for decades has reduced the river to a drain, virtually killing the river.

The achievement of these promises will need sustained and gigantic efforts and timely and adequate availability of funds. Monitoring will require several arms of the administration to work in close coordination and periodical review of the project at the very top. With a triple-engine government in place, there would be no room to hide.

Ramanath Jha is a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

• Urbanisation in India
• Urbanisation
• India
• BJP government
• Delhi elections 2025
• Governance
• infrastructure development
• pollution control
• triple-engine government
• Welfare Schemes
• Yamuna cleaning

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