Traders, business owners struggling due to poor infrastructure: Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday voiced concerns over the state of the city’s infrastructure, citing widespread frustration among traders and business owners. She pointed to inadequate sanitation, poor road conditions, and a lack of development as major challenges, blaming the previous government’s mismanagement and impractical policies.

Speaking at an event ahead of the Delhi Budget 2025-26, Gupta assured traders and industrialists that their concerns had been heard and that her administration would take concrete action.

“For years, business owners have struggled with bureaucratic hurdles and flawed policies. Markets across Delhi continue to suffer from crumbling roads, inefficient drainage systems, and a lack of even basic civic amenities like public washrooms,” she said.

She highlighted key commercial areas, including Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, and Lajpat Nagar, as examples of the neglect faced by traders due to failing infrastructure and poor governance.

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Criticising the former AAP-led government, Gupta remarked, “They focused only on publicising problems, while we are here to deliver real solutions.”

She assured that the upcoming budget would prioritise infrastructure improvements, better sanitation, and business-friendly reforms to support traders and stimulate economic growth in the capital.

The Chief Minister also assured to develop Delhi into a modern city and work to strengthen the basic facilities across the national capital.

Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh in the city’s northwest, was viewed by many as a surprise pick by the BJP, which had two-time ex-Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Verma (who is also the son of former Chief Minister Saheb Singh Verma) among the more high-profile names on the shortlist. She was sworn in on February 20 in a grand oath-taking ceremony at the city’s Ramlila Maidan. With her, six Cabinet ministers – Parvesh Singh Verma, Kapil Mishra, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Ravinder Indraj Singh – also took oath.

(With inputs from PTI)