Delhi Plans Underground Cables With Rs 100 Crore Budget

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, in her 2025-26 budget presentation, announced an allocation of Rs 100 crore for a pilot project to shift overhead electricity cables underground. This initiative aims to enhance the city's security and aesthetics.

Gupta, who also holds the finance portfolio, allocated a total of Rs 3,847 crore to the city government's power department. This represents an increase from the previous AAP government's allocation of Rs 3,353 crore in the 2024-25 budget.

This budget marks the first presented by a BJP-led government in Delhi in over 26 years, following their recent assembly election victory.

During her speech in the Delhi Assembly, Gupta emphasised the safety and aesthetic concerns associated with overhead wires. She stated that the Rs 100 crore "shifting of HT/LT transmission lines" scheme will ensure all overhead cables are laid underground, contributing to a more secure, cleaner, and modern Delhi.

Gupta reiterated her government's commitment to providing uninterrupted and affordable electricity to all Delhi residents. She described the Rs 3,847 crore allocation to the Power Department as a crucial step towards achieving energy self-reliance and a clean future for the capital.

She also highlighted the government's priority of ensuring 24-hour uninterrupted electricity and stressed the need to increase domestic power generation from clean and renewable sources to meet the city's growing electricity demands and support its economic growth.

The Delhi government is in the process of signing an agreement with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the central government to implement the 'PM Surya Ghar: Free Electricity Scheme' in Delhi, she shared.

"Under this scheme, a subsidy of up to Rs 78,000 will be provided to the residential consumers of Delhi. To make this initiative more effective, my government is proposing a new scheme called 'PM Surya Ghar: Free Electricity Scheme – State Top Up, for which a budget of Rs 50 crore has been allocated. Under this scheme, 2.3 lakh residential rooftops will be equipped with solar energy in the next three years," she said.

Laying the roadmap for the power sector, she said Delhi is now on its way to becoming an energy-smart city, where every home will be illuminated, every industry will flourish and the future will be brightened by green energy.

(With Inputs From PTI)