Sisodia presents first report card in House

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 21

Ahead of the annual budget, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia today presented in the House the AAP government’ first “target and outcome budget” for the period April- December 2017, sharing department-wise performance data — with hits and misses of its 14 departments of the total 34 departments.

Going by the Delhi Planning Department’s assessment, Finance Minister Sisodia said of all the departments majority are “on-track” (i.e. with about 70 per cent progress by December 2017) while around six are “off track” – those which are less than 70 per cent – not considering the indicators marked as ‘not applicable’ due to date of implementation falling in the current year.

Sisodia, who touted the report card as “country’s first” and a major leap towards “transparency and accountability” of the government in spending the taxpayers’ money, listed out his government’s work and “achievements” in terms of “defined” indicators measuring both “outputs (targeted) and outcomes (people benefited) of various schemes and programmes of the government.

Simply putting the outcome budget gauges the performance of a particular scheme of the government, for instance the government claims currently 160 mohalla clinics (outcome) are operational providing health services to around 32 lakh people as against its targeted 1,000 such clinics in the city.

Beginning with the education department, Sisodia told the House that his department has achieved 86 per cent target — highest among all the departments — in skill training and technical education with 166 of its total 189 critical indicators found to be “on track” whereas 13 of them to be off-track.

The health department saw around 76 per cent of the total 643 critical indicators faring well with two crore people availing health services through 32 city government-run hospitals while 24 per cent require improvement being off track, revealed the Outcome Budget Report (2017-18).

While enumerating highlights of the report, Sisodia informed the House that around 4.20 lakh senior citizens were given financial aid in nine months as compared to the previous year’s 3.83 lakh while the Delhi Jal Board had laid down water pipelines in 1,209 unauthorised colonies as against last year’s 1,144 colonies.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel today directed Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot to ensure the proposed 1,397 bus shelters, which have seen little progress even after three years despite tenders being floated three times through PPP mode, are worked out by the government before the rainy months. Gahlot assures the House to bring the proposal within three days with an alternative to the previous revenue sharing model. 

Edu Dept to probe into the student suicide: Sisodia

Sisodia today told the Assembly that the education department will probe the alleged suicide by a Class IX student of a private school in east Delhi after Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta raised the disturbing issue in which the 15-year-old victim from Noida is learnt to have been driven towards the extreme step by two of her teachers who sexually assaulted her.

Referring to the police complaint by the parents, Gupta said the victim whose suicide has been linked to her poor academic performance is said to have faced sexual assault by her Science and Social Science teachers.

Sisodia assured the House that if the school is found guilty, action will be taken in the matter even as the school administration has denied the allegations.