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Supreme Court Directs Delhi Government To Justify Ad Expenditure Amidst Funding Controversy For RRTS Project
- The Supreme Court criticized the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal on Monday for stating its incapacity to provide funds for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project.
- The court ordered the government to provide information regarding the expenditures made on advertisements during the previous three fiscal years.
According to sources, the Supreme Court criticized the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal on Monday for stating its incapacity to provide funds for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. The court ordered the government to provide information regarding the expenditures made on advertisements during the previous three fiscal years.
The bench, consisting of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, instructed the Aam Aadmi Party government to submit an affidavit within two weeks, providing specific information regarding the allocated funds. These funds were intended for the construction of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) segment, which aims to establish a connection between the national capital and Rajasthan and Haryana.
The court expressed its intention to scrutinize the government's expenditure, stating that all funds designated for advertisements should be redirected to support the aforementioned project. The court emphasized that the government's request for such an order would be fulfilled.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly criticized Chief Minister Kejriwal, claiming that the Delhi government has allocated ₹1,868 crore for advertisements over the past five years.
In a tweet, Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT cell, mentioned that Arvind Kejriwal's government has expressed its inability to provide funds for the NCR Rapid Rail project, citing a lack of financial resources. However, in the last five years, Kejriwal has spent a staggering ₹1,868 crore on advertisements, which amounts to over ₹31 crore per month and approximately ₹1.2 crores per day! Malviya further remarked when taxpayer money is squandered on self-promotion, it is evident that there will be insufficient resources for developmental projects.
Acknowledging the Delhi government's inability to contribute funds towards this public project due to financial constraints, the court called upon the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi to file an affidavit delineating the utilization of funds for advertisement purposes. Considering the national significance of the project, the court requested details for the previous fiscal years.
However, as of now, the Delhi government or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has not provided a response to Malviya's accusation. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Delhi government's Directorate of Information & Publicity (DIP) sent a notice to the ruling AAP regarding the retrieval of ₹163.62 crore that was spent on advertisements, purportedly in violation of the Supreme Court's guidelines issued in 2015. The notice cautioned that if the party fails to deposit the money within 10 days, the AAP headquarters may be sealed.
