The Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal on Monday agreed to pay dues for the Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail Project after Supreme Court pulled up the government for lavishly spending money on ad campaigns while failing to contribute the money to the project.
Noting the AAP’s government failure to clear the dues, the apex court said that if it can spend over Rs 1,100 crore on advertisements then it can fund the rail project as well.
“If Rs 1,100 crore can be spent on ads in the last three years, certainly infrastructure projects can be financed,” the Supreme Court bench remarked.
However, the Delhi government later agreed to clear the dues and contribute money to the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court directed the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi to disclose the money it has spent on advertisements in the last three financial years as it failed to contribute its share to the RRTS.
A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia passed an order asking the Delhi government to file an affidavit enumerating details of funds within two weeks.
“Let us check what funds you have been spending.. we will say that all funds for advertisement will be diverted. Do you want this kind of order? You are asking for it,” the apex court said.
“The Delhi government has expressed its inability to contribute funds for a common project. Since the paucity of funds impedes this project, we call upon the NCT of Delhi to file an affidavit setting forth the funds utilised for advertisement as the project is of national importance. Details may be furnished for last financial years,” the bench added.
Delhi-Meerut RRTS project
The 17-kilometre Sahibabad-Duhai Depot priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS project will be commissioned within a few weeks, NCRTC Managing Director Vinay Kumar Singh said last week.
Last month, the NCRTC received the approval of the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) for the operation of RAPIDX service on this stretch.
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