In an interview on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta told Gayathri Mani, Kaunain Sheriff M and Monojit Majumdar about her government’s achievements over the past year, her priorities and plans for the nation’s capital – to make it clean, beautiful, financially stronger, and more inviting for a range of businesses. She also strongly countered the claims and allegations of the opposition AAP, and its leader Arvind Kejriwal.After his discharge in the CBI’s liquor scam case, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has dared the Prime Minister to hold fresh Assembly elections, and said he would retire from politics if the BJP wins more than 10 seats. What is your reaction?He knows that the Election Commission of India will not hold elections just because he says so. His statements are only to mislead the public. The decision of the court is part of a judicial process, it is not the final decision; there is the High Court and Supreme Court… We have seen so many ups and downs in court cases in this country; the fight for justice cannot end.I’d like to ask those who claim to be kattar imaandaar (uncompromisingly honest), if your excise policy was so good, you should have stood by it; why did you withdraw it as soon as the investigation began? The commission of private vendors was increased by several times, the revenue that should have come to the government went to private parties… Why are there trails of money laundering? Why did you try to destroy 170 mobiles, to delete the data? Did you want to generate revenue or to benefit someone? You will have to answer these questions.Also, this is not the only case against Mr Kejriwal, there are many others – relating to classrooms, Delhi Transport Corporation, medicines, mohalla clinics… Has he got a clean chit in all of them? As we look at the accounts of the previous government, we see something every day, there are signs of corruption everywhere…You (Kejriwal) ran away from Delhi… Had you been honest, you would have stayed and worked for the people of Delhi. But you took your entire syndicate to Punjab and started working with the drugs and liquor mafia there… You sold the country.Where is your love for the people of Delhi? You said you did not want power, house, car, nothing… But in fact you want everything, if not in Delhi then in Punjab… Did the people of Delhi give you a clean chit? Your Sheesh Mahal stands testimony to the crores that you spent on yourself.Story continues below this adBut the alleged liquor scam was on top of the BJP’s political agenda during the election campaign. What is your political counter now?There is no need to counter anything, the public understands. Kejriwalji is a very clever person… Can you name one other CM in this country who did not keep a single department or ministry with themselves? I have more than 10 portfolios; I work day and night. I sign a hundred files every day. But he ensured from day one that his signature was not on any file; phanse toh koi aur phanse (let someone else get caught)… The people of Delhi blessed you (AAP) with such a huge mandate, but you refused to accept any responsibility. The AAP government was only relying on handing out freebies, but as soon as the people came to know about their corruption, how messed up it is, they gave their verdict…There are all kinds of people in the world. Some will say good things about the Prime Minister, some will say bad things. But the truth can never be hidden for long… You (Kejriwal) did not complete even a single project in Delhi in your 11 years, bas bade bade dialogue maaro (you’re only big talk)… Not just Kejriwal, almost every [AAP] MLA has a case against them; Dilli ki janta ko jo jis-jis tarah se loot sakte the unhone loota. (They looted the people of Delhi in whatever way they could.)So what were the major challenges that you faced after taking charge as Chief Minister?Story continues below this adThey left the government, all departments, in a very poor condition. For example, 17 hospitals were left incomplete; I got their details and found instances of arbitrary decisions in each of them… Hospitals that should have been built for Rs 2,000 crore, today they can’t perhaps be completed even with Rs 6,000 crore. Forty schools are being built for years now; costs have escalated dramatically. An entire building constructed for judicial officials was demolished even before anyone could move in… I asked, how much was spent; whose fault is it? There are no records. There was this Rs-15-crore free coaching scam, but there is no record of how many students enrolled. There are at least 150 cases relating to arbitration. For the Barapullah cases, we had to pay Rs 250 crore in arbitration… Because of their negligence, the current government is paying. This is a loss for the public… There are so many cases and stories of corruption that I could tell you one every day.And what is the solution to all these problems? After a year in power, what are the major achievements of your government?We have spent every single day of the past year working relentlessly for the people of Delhi. Be it Delhi’s legacy problems, cleaning the Yamuna, the mountains of garbage, or pollution, the government has proceeded scientifically along a roadmap…So, the Yamuna is to be cleaned, but how? The discharge of drains into the Yamuna needs to be addressed… We have conducted drone surveys to map all drains, the discharge… Our 35 sewage treatment plants are being upgraded, and tenders have been floated for 37 new decentralised STPs… We have increased the STPs’ capacity to 815 MGD from 700 MGD and the target is to take it to 1,500… Thirteen new big STPs are planned.Story continues below this adWe have got help from the Centre and have held meetings with all the NCR states; everyone is working to stop the release of untreated waste into the river. From STPs to the cleaning of drains to water treatment plants to the laying of sewer lines in the slums and unauthorised colonies to the disposal of garbage, construction and demolition waste, and industrial waste…, work is ongoing. A biogas plant has been opened for the first time in Delhi.From senior officials to experts, the government has engaged everyone so that Delhi gets better solutions. We have detailed studies… Just look at Minto Bridge, it was not waterlogged this time, what did we do that they (AAP) could not do in 11 years? 22,000 tonnes of silt have been removed from the drains so far… From a single drain, the Sunehri Pul drain, due to which even Golf Links saw waterlogging, 25,000 MT of silt has been removed…These are some of the key sectors in which we have worked over the past year. We will ensure that the people of Delhi see development every year in terms of the quality of air, transportation, and the Yamuna.What specific steps is the government taking to address air pollution?Story continues below this adIt is not a problem that can be solved in a day. Delhi is spread over 1,483 sq km, and its population is more than that of a large state like Chhattisgarh. We are working on short-, medium- and long-term plans.For instance, in the short term, we have a dust mitigation plan, deploying anti-smog guns, mist sprayers on electric poles and at metro stations, etc. For the long term, we are working on repairing and wall-to-wall re-carpeting of roads. Roads in Delhi are flanked by uncarpeted stretches, which cause dust. The government has planned 100 per cent greening on both sides of roads and on the central verges to control dust. We have identified traffic congestion points… A detailed study is being conducted to find out how to end traffic congestion. Multi-dimensional planning and work is going on, keeping all problems in mind…To cut vehicular pollution, we have added 4,000 buses in the last one year, while the AAP government could only add 2,000 buses in 11 years of their tenure. We have placed orders for the future; 14,000 buses will ply on Delhi’s roads by 2029, and they will be 100 per cent electric.The central government is taking pollution very seriously. The Centre has brought the states around Delhi together, and a common agenda is being prepared on how to curb pollution caused by older vehicles that enter Delhi from outside.Story continues below this adThe existing EV policy will expire in March. When will the EV policy 2.0 be implemented?There was nothing in the policy that is expiring. They did not pay even a rupee towards subsidies during their tenure. A payment of Rs 40 crore is due, which we will pay. Kejriwal sahab did not pay the Metro, for the Expressway; we are clearing the liabilities.We will announce the EV policy in the coming Budget session. We are talking to all stakeholders; it will be a policy that will change the transportation of Delhi and will motivate the private sector. We are already working to make the public transport fleet 100 per cent electric; we are also working on strengthening last-mile connectivity.We are talking to OEMs because giving subsidies on only vehicles is not sufficient, you need better EV infrastructure for battery-charging, swapping stations, etc. Also, what will happen to the batteries that will be replaced; that too is being discussed.Story continues below this adThe intended beneficiaries of the financial assistance of Rs 2,500 under the Mahila Samriddhi Scheme, one of the top poll promises of the BJP, are still waiting. What is the government doing for women?I am giving a lot of gifts to my sisters this Women’s Day. We are going to give them free cooking gas cylinders. We will be doing DBT for the value of a cylinder…17.5 lakh families under our ration card category will benefit.We have brought the Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana to motivate girl children to study. There used to be a Ladli Yojana earlier; I found that more than 2 lakh daughters did not get the benefit of this Yojana. That money is lying in our accounts… We traced 30,000 girls; Rs 90 crore have been distributed, 40,000 more girls have been identified, and Rs 100 crore will be distributed through DBT.We upgraded the Ladli Yojana, which was for girls until Class 10. Our girls should study till post-graduation, so under our scheme, when they will complete their education, they will receive Rs 1.15 lakh in their accounts.Story continues below this adWe are working hard on the Mahila Samriddhi Scheme. First, we should have the eligibility list… Second, this is a continuous scheme, it cannot be that I provide Rs 2,500 today and stop next month. I want to start this scheme when the Delhi government becomes financially sound, so the money can be given every month.I told you that we are clearing the liabilities left behind by the AAP government. We are taking many steps to make Delhi financially sound. For the first time, we have separated the account of Delhi from the account of the central government; we can now borrow money from the market at a lower interest rate, which can be used not for freebies but for capital expenditure.What is the government doing to strengthen the startup ecosystem, so that Delhi does not lose out to neighbouring states?We are working on it. The industrial sectors in the city have long been neglected; they do not have many basic facilities, roads, pipelines, sewers, electricity. As a step forward, the Delhi government approved collateral-free loans up to Rs 10 crore to MSMEs. We are also coming up with a new startup policy. We are encouraging startups in non-polluting sectors such as the service and data sectors.We are also working to develop Delhi as an events hub; creating a concert economy. Over the last three months, big events have been organised in Delhi. It is happening because we have revised the entire SOP, simplified the process. We are planning to build big event sites in the city. A film festival is going to be held for the first time. We are bringing a film policy to motivate people to shoot films in Delhi. Our focus is on generating revenue and employment.Also Read | Delhi CM Rekha Gupta targets Mamata Banerjee: ‘A woman CM and women in Bengal not safe’What is happening with the excise policy?Discussions with stakeholders are ongoing. We have studied the policies of other states. Delhi has its own set of circumstances. Looking at what the previous government tried to do, we do not want to put the city in that situation again. It is taking some time but we are working hard.We want to bring a policy that suits the culture of Delhi. It should be both people-friendly and revenue-friendly, and at the same time it should not affect our culture and customs.What is it like to be the only woman Chief Minister of the BJP?I am doing my work. Neither am I under pressure nor am I privileged. There is no special treatment because I am a woman. Everyone has to work.My challenge is to solve the problems of my city. The expectations of the people of Delhi have to be fulfilled, they have a lot of hope and aspirations. A lot of hard work is required to fulfil their expectations. I am doing that hard work.When you look back on the past year, what is that one project that has given you the most personal satisfaction?The Atal Canteen. Lakhs of people come to Delhi with their hopes and dreams. They work very hard. I feel great satisfaction when I see people can afford a full meal. Serving food to 1 lakh people daily is something that makes me very happy.And apart from all the policies of your government, what is your personal dream for our city?My dream is to make Delhi clean, well maintained, green, and beautiful. It is the capital of my country, if someone comes to Delhi, they should see the difference, and say Waah…