The Delhi Assembly took a step towards digital efficiency on Monday, providing iPads to legislators and making Budget 2025-26 documents accessible through the Delhi Budget application.
“I wish to inform all members that all documents related to the Budget will be made available on the Delhi Budget App. For this, all members will be provided new iPads, which can be collected during the lunch break,” Speaker Vijendra Gupta said.
The announcement was met with applause from the members, who welcomed the initiative.
Speaker Gupta further said that MLAs could access the Budget documents by clicking on the Budget App, which is also available for download on the Play Store for smartphones.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also tabled a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the financial performance of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for 2024. Copies of the report were distributed to members for discussion in the House.
The CAG report highlighted the mounting financial losses of the DTC, which has been offering free rides to women for the past decade while struggling to phase out ageing and polluting vehicles in favor of electric buses.
According to the report, the DTC’s losses surged by ₹35,000 crore, rising from ₹25,300 crore in 2015-16 to nearly ₹60,750 crore in 2021-22.
The audit also pointed to the corporation’s failure to curb financial losses, achieve profitability, and modernize its fare collection and security infrastructure.
Key findings of the Performance Audit Report on the functioning of Delhi Transport Corporation included the absence of a Business Plan or Perspective Plan, delays in bus procurement despite an ageing fleet, low fleet utilization and productivity, inefficient route planning, a non-functional Automatic Fare Collection System, and non-recovery of dues.
Regarding fleet depletion, the report noted that between 2015 and 2023, the DTC’s fleet reduced from 4,344 buses in 2015-16 to 3,937 buses in 2022-23.
The corporation procured only 300 electric buses in 2021-22 and 2022-23, despite available funding from the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. There were delays in adding electric buses to the fleet, and a penalty amounting to ₹29.86 crore for delayed delivery was not imposed on the operators.
It further highlighted that the number of low-floor overage buses increased significantly over the years. The proportion of overage buses rose from 0.13 percent, or five buses, in 2015-16 to 17.44 percent, or 656 buses, in 2021-22. This number further increased to 44.96 percent, or 1,770 buses, by March 31, 2023. The report warned that this figure will continue to rise unless the corporation takes urgent steps to procure new buses.
The CAG’s critical observations come at a time when Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Singh has announced the phased introduction of 2,000 electric buses in the city, starting April 1.
Criticizing the previous AAP government’s mismanagement, Singh vowed to make the DTC profitable and reverse the public transporter’s current losses of ₹235 crore.
