NEW DELHI: Taking the “Kejriwal model of governance” to the global platform, Kalkaji MLA Atishi said at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government showed that in a city of 30 million it was possible to provide high quality public services while running a fiscally responsible administration.
Speaking along with the mayors of Bogota and Barcelona on ‘Best Practices of Leading Locally’ on implementing the world body’s New Urban Agenda, Atishi said the Kejriwal government struck a balance of “egalitarian development” with “sustainability and fiscal prudence”.
The AAP MLA said, “The Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi has shown that a government can provide high quality public services to all its citizens and yet be fiscally responsible. And it is these very public services that, in fact, lead to greater economic growth.”
She said that provision of education, healthcare, water and electricity to all citizens was believed to be expensive and developing countries often withdrew from these services, leading to increased tariffs, steady deterioration of government schools and healthcare facilities. “While this may have improved fiscal management, it led to increasing inequality. But in the last seven years, Delhi Government has turned this conventional wisdom on its head based on its honest and committed work,” she claimed.
Atishi emphasised that there was 24/7 electricity supply in Delhi at the lowest tariffs in India even as four million households got a zero electricity bill. She said that more than 1500 residential areas in Delhi had got piped water for the first time and the state-run schools were performing better than the private ones. Mohalla Clinics were providing free healthcare to citizens at a low cost to the government, she added.
CM Kejriwal congratulated Atishi in a tweet for “making the whole world aware of the potential of the country and the sentiments of the people of Delhi and the country on such a huge international platform”. He said, “The country wants such progressive thinking. India now wants to move towards progress. This is a moment of pride for India. Delhi and AAP make Indians proud. The world is now looking at Delhi for solutions in many areas of urban governance. We all will learn from each other to make the world a better place.”
