BJP-led Delhi government set to present budget for 2025-26
New Delhi: In the nation’s capital, the BJP-led Delhi government is scheduled to unveil its first budget in 26 years, the 2025–2026 budget. Today, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who also serves as Finance Minister, will unveil the 2025–2026 Budget.
The chief minister is scheduled to visit the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place before the budget presentation. She will then go to the Delhi Secretariat for a Cabinet meeting.
The Delhi Secretariat will now host the Cabinet sessions, which under previous Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were often conducted in the Assembly. Gupta will deliver the budget to the Vidhan Sabha after the meeting.
The recent 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retake power after 27 years, makes this budget session noteworthy.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta presented a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to the Assembly earlier on Monday. It brought attention to financial losses and operational inefficiencies, which prompted criticism of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration.
The research assesses the main financial and operational facets of DTC, highlighting areas that need development and inefficiencies. It looks at income creation, fleet management, operational sustainability, and compliance with public transportation regulations.
BJP MLA Harish Khurana attacked the previous AAP administration after the CAG report was tabulated, claiming that it had mismanaged the public transport system, causing financial losses and a reduction in DTC’s bus fleet.
While the AAP had pledged 11,000 additional buses between 2013 and 2013–15, Khurana noted during the Delhi Assembly session that the number of DTC buses had dropped from 4,344 in 2015 to 3,937.
He further claimed that although DTC was profitable under previous Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, the company’s total losses under the AAP increased by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 8,498.33 crore.
He emphasized the loss in revenue, saying that DTC’s operational income fell to Rs 558 crore from Rs 914 crore when the AAP came to office. In addition, he claimed financial violations, asking why the AAP administration had given private cluster buses 3.18 lakh square meters of DTC property without receiving Rs 225 crore in rent.
He also criticized the government for not buying new buses even though the Delhi Transport Department has Rs 223 crore in 2022.
Khurana said that 1,770 CNG buses had outlived their useful lives but had not been replaced by the AAP administration, attributing this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assistance in bringing electric buses to Delhi.
CM Gupta prepared the ceremonial ‘Kheer’ before the Delhi Legislative Assembly’s Monday Budget Session.
One of the most important times of the legislative calendar is the Budget Session, when important financial and policy issues will be debated and resolved. The anticipated timetable for the session is March 24–28, 2025, with the option to extend if necessary.
