With only a few months left for Assembly Polls in February 2020, Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has proposed free metro and bus rides for women. The expenses of the free ride scheme will be borne by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi. Even though this subsidiary scheme is kept optional, in my opinion it completely goes against the idea of equality. Equality means treating everyone at par, clearly, Delhi Govt. is going against the idea making (poor) men’s life more difficult than what it already is.

The motive of this scheme is to give safe travel experience and access to the modes of transport which (poor) women are not able to, due to high prices. The question is, are only women poor in this area? A report by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Delhi, said the city has about 6,343 slums with 1.02 million households. Why only women are getting such benefits and men are left to figure out things on their own without any support, is a question to ponder upon. Mr. Kejriwal pointed out that “Right now our concern is the safety of women”, how come this subsidiary for women is guaranteeing a ‘safe’ experience. There are special compartments where only women are allowed to travel and is taking care of their safety. Talking about this, what about the street lights on Delhi roads, is this not unsafe for women?  For this fiscal, the scheme is likely to cost the around Rs 700 crore as per current estimates. Addressing the media, the Aam Aadmi Party chief said the scheme will not be imposed on anyone and that women are free to purchase tickets if they want, I wonder how confused can a leader be. The country is looking for equality, the basic meaning behind feminism is equal rights for men and women, gender biased empowerment will only make it more difficult to reach our goals. Women are asking for equal rights, not favours by the government. Discriminating and patronizing people like this will only take us a step back in equality. On being asked the CM about why subsidy is excluding male passengers, his reply was once the free rides for women get started, he will think about it. Which means free rides for all- men and women. How will the government bear the expenses for this?

Delhi has other major problems that should be looked upon. For instance, inflation in items of basic need like vegetables, the cost of living has hiked but the income has not. There is a lack of parking spaces in Delhi. Nearly 1,400 cars are added to Delhi’s streets every day while work on construction of new parking lots is quite slow. Roads are left with incomplete constructions for months making the traffic very chaotic. Construction work needs to be speedier. Water pollution Is another major concern in Delhi. The latest data of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that groundwater samples taken from observation wells in the national capital are getting contaminated because of their unhygienic catchments and untreated sewage, which is discharged in the open and into drains, and percolates into the groundwater. A total of 18 drains of Delhi, whose water flows into the Yamuna, create 80 percent pollution in the river, Water Resources

The country doesn’t need schemes and laws which are biased against men, it needs a platform where both the sexes can be at par. Such schemes will only give unfair benefits to women and it is not possible to make the rides free for both men and women as it will take a toll on the finances. Instead, the govt. should work upon reducing the fares so that more people can travel through public transports.