Assembly session begins, but Delhi budget delayed by weeks

Delhi’s finance minister Atishi informed the assembly on the first day of the budget session on Thursday that the presentation of the annual budget 2024-25 for the Capital will be delayed, and asked for the session to be extended till the first week of March in order to complete all proceedings.
The government did not explain the exact reason behind the delay, but said that the budget passed by the state Delhi cabinet on Sunday, approved by the lieutenant governor (LG) on Wednesday, and has now been sent to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) for approval.
“The budget was passed by the cabinet on February 11, and on February 13, it was sent to LG for his assent. We received the LG’s approval on February 14. There has been no delay from the LG’s side, it has been delayed on our part. Today the budget will be sent to the MHA for approval,” Atishi informed the assembly. The budget was supposed to be presented between February 15 and 21.
“It takes approximately 10-15 days for the budget’s final approval and presidential assent. I estimate that the budget will not be presented before February 25,” the minister said. She requested the speaker to extend the ongoing session so discussions on the presented budget can be carried out. “I hope that the Delhi budget will be presented either in the last week of February or in the first week of March. After the budget presentation, there will also be some discussion in the House on the budget for a few days, that is why the House should be extended till the first week of March,” she said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on its part, slammed the Delhi government for the delay and demanded the resignation of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for “failing to prepare a timely budget”, alleging the chief minister was “using the delay as an excuse to not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED)”.
The budget session opened on Thursday with LG VK Saxena addressing the House and elaborating on the work of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the years. It was after his speech — which is prepared by the government — that Vidhan Sabha speaker Ram Niwas Goel said the date of budget presentation was yet to be finalised.
The speaker put Atishi’s proposal for extension to a voice vote, and after it was accepted, adjourned the proceedings of the house until 11am on Friday. AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly and the BJP has eight members.
A government official, asking not to be named, said that House sessions are likely to be held every working day till the first week of March.
A list of businesses prepared by the assembly secretariat said the session will begin at 11am on Friday, when MLAs will raise issues related to their respective constituencies, and later Delhi minister Gopal Rai will move a motion of thanks on the LG’s address.
During the budget session, the government is also likely to present the annual outcome budget — a document mapping the performance of all key departments against various predefined targets — and table the Economic Survey 2023-24 — a detailed report on the state of Delhi’s economy, including the highlights of the government’s policy initiatives and development programmes. The dates on which these reports will be presented have not yet been declared.
Since Delhi is a Union territory with a legislature, the approval of the President through the MHA is required before the budget can be presented in the assembly. In March 2023, the scheduled presentation of Delhi’s annual budget on March 21 was postponed after it emerged a day before that the requisite nod had not been received. It was presented a day later on March 22 as the MHA approved it after the Delhi government provided some clarifications sought by the LG office.
Last year, the then finance minister Kailash Gahlot presented budget estimates worth ₹78,800 crore for the 2023-24 fiscal, with a focus on enhancing the Capital’s infrastructure, sanitation and transportation facilities, apart from special attention to the AAP’s usual areas of interests, health and education.
AAP officials have indicated the 2024-25 budget may have a special focus on roads, infrastructure, electricity, and water. “The Delhi government may give a special focus on the development of roads in villages in Delhi in this year’s budget… Many village roads are in poor condition and not motorable. Many roads had been excavated due to ongoing development work of water and sewer pipeline laying,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
This year’s budget is important for the AAP as it is scheduled only months ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Though the party swept the 2015 and 2020 state polls, it is yet to win a single Lok Sabha seat from Delhi. This is also the last budget that the incumbent government will present before the Delhi assembly polls, which are likely to be held in January or February 2025.
The Opposition criticised the government over the budget delay. The leader of the Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri of the BJP alleged that CM Kejriwal was making the budget presentation an excuse to avoid appearing before ED as part of the agency’s investigation into a money laundering case stemming from alleged irregularities in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy 2021-2022.
“Over a fortnight ago the AAP government announced that the budget session will begin on February 15. They sent budget proposals to the LG on Wednesday, and the LG approved the budget in a day. The government has accepted its mistake, but Kejriwal should resign, taking responsibility for the failure to prepare the annual budget on time. Kejriwal should explain the reasons for the delay. We believe that since he is expected to appear in court on February 17 and before ED on February 19, he may take the budget preparations as an excuse to avoid his appearance in both places,” Bidhuri said at a press conference.
The AAP and Kejriwal have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the excise case and alleged that ED probe is a “witch-hunt” and an example of “political vendetta”.