New Delhi, Sep 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched 17 projects and schemes of the Delhi government worth Rs 1,723 crore on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta calling the Centre the "lifeline" of the national capital.
Gupta, along with her cabinet ministers, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs and the party's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, donated blood at a mega camp held at Kartavya Path.
The chief minister, along with hundreds of others, also participated in the "Sewa Sankalp Walk" at Kartavya Path to mark Modi's 75th birthday.
Addressing the gathering at the launch event held at the Thyagaraj Stadium here, Shah said when Modi became the prime minister in 2014, it was decided that his birthday would be celebrated through a "Seva Pakhwada".
He said undertaking development and welfare measures during the "Seva Pakhwada" is a new BJP tradition that is being followed for 11 years now, with panchayats, state governments and the Centre holding cleanliness drives and launching welfare schemes for the poor during the fortnight.
Gupta said the Centre has nourished Delhi over the last 11 years, providing essential support through various projects and schemes.
"It (the Centre) has worked for Delhi, serving as the city's lifeline," she said during the event at the Thyagaraj Stadium.
The projects and schemes launched virtually by Shah included five new hospital blocks, 101 Ayushman Arogya Mandir clinics, 150 dialysis machines, the registration of 50,000 people under the old-age pension scheme and 10 resource centres for children with special needs.
The home minister also unveiled the Atal Asha Nursing Home and Hostel in Narela, a financial assistance scheme for caregivers of persons with high-support needs, a hostel for college-going visually-impaired girls, the Savitri Bai Phule Shelter Home for senior citizens and 24 quick response vehicles for firefighting in congested areas.
Gupta lauded Shah, noting that he has always been willing to help the people of Delhi. The chief minister said the city, under Modi's leadership, is "rapidly" moving towards becoming "Viksit Delhi".
"Today is a very special day as we are celebrating the birthday of the worthy son of Mother India and the sculptor of Atmanirbhar Bharat -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We thank him for his government's work in Delhi," Gupta said.
She listed various central schemes and projects for Delhi, including the Rs 1.25 lakh crore spent on boosting connectivity in the capital through a network of expressways and roads and the Rs 9,000 crore provided for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna river.
She said her government will launch 75 development projects and welfare schemes in the coming days to be celebrated as "Seva Pakhwada".
The projects unveiled by Shah included waste-to-energy plants at Narela and Okhla.
The Narela plant, estimated to cost Rs 604 crore, will process 3,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, converting it into electricity. The Okhla plant expansion, which will increase its capacity from 1,950 to 2,950 tonnes per day, will cost Rs 361 crore.
Seventy-five drones developed under the "Netra-Nari-Netritva" project at a cost of Rs 85 lakh were also launched.
These drones, developed by students of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, will be operated by the Delhi Police, officials said.
The estimated cost of the other projects launched is Rs 27.27 crore (Ayushman Arogya Mandir), Rs 120 crore (50,000 new registrations under the old-age pension scheme), Rs 19 crore (financial assistance scheme for high support need persons), Rs 8.61 crore (24 quick response vehicles), Rs 10 crore (Savitri Bai Phule Shelter Home for senior citizens) and Rs 40.6 crore (Atal Asha Nursing Home and Hostel), the officials said.
Ten new resource centres of the Delhi government were also inaugurated, a move that will ensure access to various specialised therapies for around 12,500 differently-abled children.
These centres aim to ensure equitable access to services, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, behavioural interventions, counselling and other forms of therapeutic support.
After donating blood at the camp set up on Kartvya Path, Gupta said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a lot for Delhi.... This is for the first time in Delhi that people are saying 'Thank you Modiji' from this stage." The chief minister expressed gratitude to Modi for "giving" the national capital the Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam venues as well as good road connectivity.
The Delhi Fire Services got 24 quick response vehicles (QRVs) worth Rs 8.61 crore that were flagged off by Shah to tackle fire incidents in congested and high-risk areas across the city.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
