The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Delhi Building and Construction Workers Health Scheme, under which registered construction workers and their families can avail of free annual health check-ups and a range of cashless medical services worth up to ₹10 lakh per year, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) stated in a release.

About 2.7 lakh workers are registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board.

“Under the scheme, registered construction workers and their eligible family members, including spouses, children and parents, will receive free and quality healthcare services through empanelled hospitals and mobile health units. Each registered worker will be entitled to treatment of up to ₹2 lakh at empanelled hospitals, while the limit for a family will be up to ₹10 lakh. The entire treatment process will be cashless, eliminating any financial burden on workers and their families,” the statement read.

Beneficiaries will have access to free outpatient and inpatient services, diagnostic and laboratory facilities, emergency medical assistance, and referral services, it added.

The CMO stated that the board already runs 17 welfare schemes, including those for the education and marriage of children, disability pensions, and death compensation for workers.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said a comprehensive health protection scheme for this section had long been lacking, and the present initiative has been designed to address that shortcoming.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday announced civic infrastructure projects worth nearly ₹100 crore in Dwarka and said that the Centre and the Delhi government are working in tandem for the development of the national capital after years of “neglect” under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime.

She said the Dwarka sub-city will benefit as new corridors are being developed under the ₹6,200-crore expansion project in Phase-V of the metro to improve connectivity.

‘Works accelerated’

Ms. Gupta said the metro expansion projects had stalled earlier because the Delhi government failed to release its share of funds on time.

“Our government has released ₹10,000 crore for metro expansion and accelerated development works,” she said.

The Chief Minister added that efforts to resolve issues related to unauthorised colonies had also gathered pace after the formation of the “double-engine government”.

Addressing a gathering in Dwarka, Ms. Gupta said the Delhi government is working towards realising the vision of ‘Viksit Dilli (developed Delhi)’.

Working on war footing

Blaming the previous AAP government for the “deteriorating civic conditions” in Delhi, Ms. Gupta said several areas in the Capital lacked basic facilities such as drinking water, sewer lines, roads, and drainage systems.

“The present government has worked on war footing within one year to resolve these issues. Pipelines are being laid where there were no water pipelines, sewer networks are being developed where there were no sewer lines, and roads and drains are being rapidly constructed where such infrastructure was missing,” she said.

The Chief Minister said the Centre and the Delhi government were jointly working to improve civic infrastructure and public services, which includes regularisation of unauthorised colonies, housing for slum dwellers, and improvement of hospitals and schools.

Ms. Gupta said the government’s focus was not limited to large-scale projects alone but also on ensuring the delivery of basic amenities to every colony and locality.

For the first time, substantial annual budget allocations have been made for development works in every Assembly constituency, she added.

Two-day event

Separately, while inaugurating a two-day ‘Mega Self Help Group Mela-2026’ in Rohini, the Chief Minister said the government has introduced collateral-free loans of up to ₹10 crore for women self-help groups and start-ups.

Noting that the Delhi government will act as a guarantor, she said the initiative is aimed at making women in the Capital self-reliant, entrepreneurial, and economically empowered.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday announced a slew of austerity and fuel-saving measures, including ‘work from home’ for government employees twice a week, staggered office timings, and a push for public transport under the 90-day ‘Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdan’ campaign.

Ms. Gupta said 50% of government meetings would now be conducted online. Colleges and universities in Delhi will be requested to hold non-practical classes, guest lectures, and administrative meetings virtually.

The Chief Minister said the campaign aims to involve both government institutions and citizens in building “a more self-reliant and resource-conscious India”.

The initiative focuses on fuel conservation, increased use of public transport, promotion of Made-in-India products, and responsible consumption practices, she said.

To facilitate the implementation of work-from-home measures, the Labour Department will establish a single-window help desk and coordinate with the Centre to resolve operational concerns. The Delhi government will also engage directly with major institutions and companies to encourage participation, Ms. Gupta said.

‘Metro Monday’

The Chief Minister said every Monday would now be observed as ‘Metro Monday’, under which Ministers and senior officials would be encouraged to use the Delhi Metro and other forms of public transport. To reduce traffic congestion, staggered office timings have also been introduced.

Delhi government offices will function from 10.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. while Municipal Corporation of Delhi offices will operate from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since Central government offices function from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., the revised timings are expected to ease peak-hour traffic across the city.

Ms. Gupta also appealed to citizens to observe a ‘No Vehicle Day’ every week by voluntarily avoiding the use of private vehicles. She said the Delhi government will not purchase any new petrol, diesel, CNG, or hybrid vehicles for the next six months.

The Chief Minister said Ministers and senior officers of the government will not undertake official foreign visits for the next one year. She also appealed to residents to voluntarily limit non-essential foreign travel. A verified list of Indian electronic and domestic products will be released to help consumers identify indigenous alternatives.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has proposed stronger integration between bus services and the metro network in Delhi to boost public transport usage amid concerns over rising crude oil prices due to the conflict in West Asia.

In an office memorandum sent to the Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday, the Ministry stressed the need for “prudent mobility and austerity measures” in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “economic self-defence” through reduced dependence on imported oil.

The Delhi government has declared around 673.32 hectares of the Central Ridge area as ‘reserved forest’ under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Saturday, terming it a “historic milestone” in environmental conservation.

The newly notified area falls under the Western Forest Division of the Forest Department and includes parts surrounding Sardar Patel Marg and the President’s Estate. The decision has been approved by Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, according to sources. However, the mandatory gazette notification was not issued till Saturday evening.

Despite court directions, notification of Delhi’s Ridge areas as a reserved forest for stronger legal protection had remained pending for years.

As per the Forest Department, the total area of the Northern, Central, South-Central, Southern and Nanakpura Ridge stretches in Delhi is 7,784 hectares. “With the present notification of 673.32 hectares of the 864-hectare Central Ridge, the current government has so far granted reserved forest status to a total of 4,754.14 hectares of Ridge areas,” an official statement said.

Expediting process

Noting that the remaining Ridge areas in Delhi would also soon be notified as reserved forests, Ms. Gupta said the process was being “expedited”. She added that around 4,080.82 hectares of the Southern Ridge area had been declared a reserved forest on October 24 last year, and the government will undertake large-scale plantation of native and environmentally suitable tree species wherever vacant land is available in Ridge areas declared as reserved forests.

The Chief Minister said the declaration of the Central Ridge area as a reserved forest completed an important process that had remained pending for more than three decades. The issue had also drawn repeated observations from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

In a January 15, 2021, order, the NGT stressed an “urgent need” to protect the Ridge and directed authorities to finalise the Section 20 notification within three months for areas where no dispute existed.

In another order dated July 4, 2025, the tribunal noted that the process was being “unnecessarily delayed” and sought affidavits from authorities detailing timelines for issuing the final notification.