AAP government completes 100 days in office today.

1. Education

The directorate of education tried to address some headline issues such as capitation fee and refunds for nursery admissions in private schools. However, the government didn’t show the same energy in fixing its own schools. It favours detention (of failed students), but academics and activists say this is against the Right to Education Act.

It has also been preoccupied with valueeducation. Education minister Manish Sisodia and a batch of senior officials attended a vipassana course in Chhatisgarh that was made available to all teachers.

Sisodia and Kejriwal recently floated the idea of starting a separate board. To promote sports, school grounds will be opened for training. There have been attempts to curb indiscipline and corruption among teachers. Raids were conducted at two schools and action taken against the staff.

However, difficult issues have not been touched. There’s been no visible move to fill vacancies in schools with permanent staff; there is no plan for complete implementation of RTE Act. Activists are also worried over Delhi Dialogue Commission’s selection of education advisors.

2. Environment

The government has not framed any significant policy to clean up the city’s air and the Yamuna, other than a crackdown on burning of waste in the open. The environment department directed 11 DCs to carry out surprise checks at landfills and other areas to stop waste burning. It also issued notices to 172 construction companies for flouting norms.

There’s been no move to increase public transport or discourage diesel vehicles in the city. On Yamuna, due to an NGT judgment, Delhi Jal Board has been roped in to implement a massive sewage treatment project for unsewered areas, but it is yet to take off.

Despite the alarming level of air pollution, state environment minister Asim Ahmed Khan has announced only soft measures like gifting saplings instead of bouquets in schools, and plans to plant 14 lakh saplings this year. The CM recently asked the transport department to check corruption and violation of PUC norms. It remains to be seen whether the government will implement NGT’s orders.

3. Health

The AAP government hasn’t managed to breathe new life into the city’s ailing health infrastructure so far. With health minister Satyendar Jain saddled with other key departments like PWD and power, there is no urgency to tackle corruption and ensure the availability of medicines and diagnostic facilities in hospitals. Even the much-publicized ban on chewable tobacco remains only on paper.

Big hospitals remain overcrowded and peripheral hospitals are not up to the mark. There is massive shortage of manpower. Basic infrastructure such as CT scan and MRI is lacking. Posts are still being filled on ad hoc basis, and the move to let AAP volunteers and local MLAs monitor progress of work and report malpractices is also not effective.

Two big super-specialty hospitals in Janakpuri, West Delhi and Tahirpur, East Delhi have not been operationalized fully. Sushruta Trauma Centre, the only trauma facility run by the state, is in a mess.

4. Power

Just 10 days after it was sworn in, the AAP government announced a 50% subsidy on tariffs for those who consume up to 400 units. The move, however, left a question mark on the state’s finances as the government did not explain where the money for the subsidy—nearly Rs 1,500 crore—would come from. While BSES’s subsidy dues may be adjusted against the money it owes Delhi government, Tata Power will be paid.

The government has also started looking into all the power purchase agreements of discoms to understand why Delhi gets ‘costlier’ power from central sector plants.

To bring about transparency in Delhi’s power sector, the government brought in former DERC chief Berjinder Singh to draft a white paper on discoms. It is also pushing for speeding up the CAG audit of discoms. The white paper will assess the power situation in Delhi since privatization in 2002 and look into what can be done to improve the situation.

The government also proposed to bid for a coal block so that Delhi can set up its own coal-based power plant.

5. Transport

The government launched a scheme to register e-rickshaws and license drivers in February, but it has been plagued by hurdles.

So far, only 19 e-rickshaws have been registered although June 15 is the last date to register the older vehicles. Also, only about 30,000 e-rickshaw drivers have been issued a licence. Yet e-rickshaws continue to ply in the city. DTC’s plans to buy buses also remain in limbo.

Unable to interest suppliers of low-floor buses, the government announced it would settle for smaller ‘midi’ buses but the buses are yet to materialize. Other plans, such as CCTVs and marshals in buses, more permits for autorickshaws and regulation of app-based taxis, haven’t taken off either, although Rai says CCTVs and marshals will be available “soon”.

The government hasn’t started work to strengthen the transport department’s enforcement wing. Pollution checking centres and manpower for them are also inadequate. The government decided to scrap BRT, so no agency is managing it now.

6. Water

The AAP government promptly fulfilled its promise of providing 20kl free water to each household with a metered connection. Group housing societies are also covered.

The Dwarka water treatment plant was made functional shortly after the new government took office, mitigating the water crisis that has plagued the sub-city since the beginning. The Bawana water treatment plant is also running, bringing relief to about six lakh people in areas like Bawana, Mungeshpur and Qutubgarh.

Water was on the primary agenda of the new government, and to this end it appointed an active vice-chairperson of DJB and replaced its CEO. While ground work to improve water supply and sewage disposal is yet to take off fully, the government has announced that during periods of shortage, supply to VIP areas will also be curtailed. It has also come down strongly on the use of groundwater for horticulture, making it mandatory to use only treated waste water.