Delhi BJP CM Rekha Gupta Faces New Hurdle As CAG Report Reveals Rs 60,750 Crore Debt For DTC

By Fnf Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 25, Feb 2025, 13:05 pm IST | UPDATED: 25, Feb 2025, 13:05 pm IST

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to face a new challenge in Delhi where it came to power after 27 years. According to a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, the debt of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), responsible for running public buses in Delhi, has surged by Rs 35,000 crore in the last six years.

The CAG report revealed that the Delhi Transport Corporation's (DTC) cumulative losses surged from Rs 25,300 crore in 2015-16 to nearly Rs 60,750 crore in 2021-22. The primary reasons cited were a shrinking fleet, 45% of buses being prone to breakdowns due to aging, and inefficient fleet utilization. According to The Times of India, this report is one of 14 that the previous Aam Aadmi Party government had declined to present in the assembly.

The free bus travel scheme for women also added to the debt burden of the DTC. In 2007 when there was a Congress government in Delhi led by Sheila Dixit, the Delhi High Court directed that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) maintain a fleet of 11,000 buses. However, five years later, the Delhi cabinet set the target at 5,500. The CAG report reportedly highlighted that by the end of March 2022 under the AAP regime, DTC's fleet had dwindled to 3,937 buses, with 1,770 classified as overage.

This follows allegations by the newly-formed Delhi government that the previous AAP administration left the state treasury in a bankrupt condition. BJP Chief Minister Rekha Gupta accused the previous AAP government of financial mismanagement, claiming that it had depleted Delhi’s treasury. "AAP has emptied the treasury," she stated.

Delhi's current budget is Rs 78,800 crore, while spending on subsidies has risen to Rs 11,000 crore—a 607% increase in the last ten years.

If the BJP government fulfils its promise of giving Rs 2,500 per month to women, it would add another Rs 11,000 crore per year, almost doubling the subsidy costs and putting more financial pressure on the government.