Games preparations in full swing: L-G NEW DELHI: With the Delhi Assembly elections due later this year, the address of Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna on the first day of the Budget session on Monday highlighted the achievements of the Delhi Government, stating that the progress in the last one year on various infrastructure projects was a testimony to its commitment to make Delhi a world-class city. Mr. Khanna, who completed his address at one go without a pause despite vociferous protests by the Opposition BJP members and their almost coming to blows with ruling Congress MLAs, said the development process in Delhi had been proceeding "in the right direction at the desired pace'. Plan outlay Stating that there had been a phenomenal 73 per cent increase in the Annual Plan outlay for 2007-08 compared with 2006-07, Mr. Khanna said by January this year the Government had spent 84 per cent of the budgeted amount of nearly Rs.9,000 crore. And now, he said, the Government would improve upon the Plan expenditure through the Project Efficiency Unit that has started a concurrent evaluation of implementation of the projects. In health care, 359 beds were added and 1,000 more are proposed to be added during 2008-09. While construction of a 750-bed hospital at Dwarka and a 200-bed hospital at Ashok Vihar is to start soon, 15 new dispensaries have been opened. On power reforms, he said the Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses had come down by over 3 per cent per year and the transmission losses had come down from 3.84 per cent to 0.89 per cent in 2006-07. The Government would also be setting up the 1,600-MW gas-based combined cycle power project at Bawana soon to to make Delhi power-surplus by 2010. New flyovers Mr. Khanna said preparations for the Commonwealth Games-2010 were also in full swing and the Delhi Government was constructing a new multi-purpose air-conditioned indoor stadium and an eight-lane 400 metres synthetic athletic track at Thyagaraj Sports Complex. The Chhatrasal, Talkatora and Shivaji stadiums are being renovated and 17 flyovers and underpasses would be completed before the Games. With 71 nations due to participate in the sporting even, the Government has also launched the bed and breakfast scheme for increasing the availability of rooms and providing an alternate source of income to people. For improving public transport, orders for 525 new low-floor modern buses have been placed and DTC is in the process of procuring 4,500 buses that will take its fleet to 6,000 by 2010. The Corporation would also be recruiting 10,000 drivers for its buses, thereby giving a fillip to employment. The construction of eight new depots has also been sanctioned and corporatisation of private stage carriage or Blueline buses had been ushered in to remove the ill-effects of individual operations. To make the Public Distribution System more effective, Mr. Khanna said the Delhi Government had been providing 4 kg pulses to 37,800 Below Poverty Line and 57,000 Antyodaya Anna Yojna card holders at 25 per cent below market price. Now, he said, APL card holder families drawing less than Rs.1 lakh per year would also get the full quota of ration. The Government has also launched the "Ladli' free education and financing scheme for the girl child to help them monetarily. And to promote education, while five new schools have been opened and 25 upgraded, for higher education two engineering colleges have been made operational. Also, work on the B. R. Ambedkar University and National Law School of Delhi University is under way. The L-G also made a mention of how Rs.660 crore had been kept for providing facilities in unauthorised colonies during 2007-08 and a scheme to develop sewerage services in 189 villages had been taken up for implementation. Finally, he mentioned that the land acquisition prices had been enhanced from Rs.24.97 lakh per acre to Rs.75.26 lakh per acre to give adequate compensation to farmers.