In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “double-engine sarkar” narrative during the BJP’s campaign for the Delhi Assembly polls, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Tuesday announced a significant contribution from the Union government as part of the city’s Budget for the 2025-26 fiscal. The BJP government, which returned to power in Delhi last month after three decades, announced a total budgetary allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore. Funds meant for the development of Delhi, under separate heads, registered an increment of over 161% in the Budget for the next fiscal, going from more than Rs 4,391 crore to Rs 11,469 crore. The promise of combining efforts of the NDA government at the Centre and a potential BJP government in the national capital for its all-round development and its transformation into a “world-class capital” was the mainstay of the BJP’s electoral campaign. The previous AAP government had tabled a Budget of Rs 76,000 crore. During its tenure, the AAP Delhi government used to, annually, find itself at loggerheads with the BJP-led Centre over the lack of adequate budgetary allocation by the Union government to it despite the contribution of the Capital's residents to the central exchequer in income tax as well as other taxes. On the heels of the Union Budget last July, then-Finance Minister Atishi had demanded that the BJP-led Centre allocate Rs 10,000 crore, which is less than 5% of the Rs 2.07 lakh crore income tax contribution made by Delhi, for the development of infrastructure in the city. She said while Maharashtra got Rs 54,000 crore, in lieu of the Rs 5 lakh crore income tax contributed by Mumbai, and Karnataka Rs 33,000 crore as the state’s share in taxes against Rs 2 lakh crore in income tax contributed by Bengaluru, Delhi “does not get even Re 1” from the Rs 2.32 lakh crore in taxes contributed by it to the Centre’s kitty in that fiscal. The BJP had countered Atishi, accusing her of misleading the people on the issue and arguing that the Centre spends “a significant amount of money” under various heads beyond the Budget allocation on schemes, programmes and projects in the city out of which it too functions. AAP’s Budget had accounted for Tax Revenue of Rs 58,750 crore, Rs 10,000 crore in Small Saving Loan and Non-Tax Revenue of Rs 1,000 crore. Funds received under the “Normal Central Assistance & other Central Grants” were at Rs 1,168 crore, and it was Rs 3,224 under the “Centrally Sponsored Scheme” head. For the 2025-26 fiscal, however, Tax Revenue accounted for Rs 68,700 crore, Non-Tax Revenue Rs 750 crore and Small Debt Rs 15,000 crore. The Centre’s contribution, on the other hand, factors in grants under separate heads, of Rs 4,128 crore and Rs 7,341 crore, a total of Rs 11,469 crore. This is in line with a combined effort by BJP governments at the Centre and in Delhi to “visibly transform the Capital” within three years. According to BJP sources, the Prime Minister had instructed both the Centre and the Rekha Gupta government to ensure a “visible and tangible change” in Delhi, especially in terms of the city’s infrastructure. The PM, sources said, is said to have issued directions to ministers and senior bureaucrats — especially those who have a “common interface” when it came to the city — to formulate joint schemes aimed at achieving the objective. Sources said the PM’s instructions were especially for ministries such as Road Transport and Highways, Housing and Urban Affairs, Health and Family Welfare and Inland Waterways.
