Delhi Government slammed by Supreme Court

The Delhi administration was criticised by the Supreme Court for claiming that no money had been shed for the project when it was brought up in a case regarding the delay of the Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS), which will connect Delhi, Meerut, and Ghaziabad.”If you have money for advertisements, why don’t you have money for a project that will ensure smooth transport?” the Delhi government was questioned by the Supreme Court panel of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia.

After a court ordered the Delhi government to provide an affidavit detailing its advertising expenditures over the previous three years, the administration complied, and the affidavit revealed that Rs 1073 crores had been spent on advertising during those three years.The Delhi government throwing up its hands for donating its proportionate amounts was the only reason the Bench was forced to pass the most recent judgement, the bench explicitly stated in the judgement.

The bench further remarked that the Delhi government had spent about Rs 1100 crores, as per the affidavit it had submitted. The bench then chastised the government for not contributing to the infrastructure project if it could spend Rs 1100 crores on advertising. The Delhi government was then warned by Justice SK Kaul that if it didn’t pay the money, the Supreme Court would attach the advertisement budget.

Senior Attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was arguing on behalf of the Delhi government, informed the bench that the government would contribute to the RRTS project but also pleaded with the bench to permit the payments to be made in installments over time. Justice Kaul responded that the payment schedule is spread out over time in and of itself. The state would make a budgetary allocation in accordance with the timetable that was set forth, the bench was also informed. LiveLaw reports that the bench issued a directive on the payment of the overdue amount in addition to accepting the State Government’s statement.