Pay RRTS share, or ad money will be transferred: SC to Delhi govt

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over the Delhi Government not allocating funds for the Regional Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) project and directed the government to transfer its advertisement fund to the project.

"Budgetary provision is something which the state government should make. But if such national projects are to be affected, and against that, money is being spent on advertisement, we would have been inclined to direct those funds to be transferred to this project," the bench Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said.

The Court passed an order to transfer the advertisement funds of the government for the project but kept the order in abeyance for a week, saying it would be operable if the State government did not transfer funds for the project in a week.

The court observed that there was 'gross breach' of the assurances given by the Delhi Government in earlier hearings.

Noting that the project was important for containing pollution in the capital, the bench said that in April, they had told the Delhi government to pay the balance amount of Rs 415 crores promptly. The bench observed that the budgetary allocation for advertisements for the last three years was almost Rs 1,100 crores and for this financial year was Rs 550 crores.

"We have thus little option but to direct that funds allocated for advertisement purposes be transferred to the project in question. At the request of the learned counsel (of Delhi government), we will keep this order in abeyance for a period of one week. If the funds are not transferred, the order will come into operation," said the court.