SC warns Delhi over due RRTS payment

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reminded the Delhi government to pay up its share for the two Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects within a week and told the state to not force the court to revive its earlier order and deduct the money the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s advertisement budget

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reminded the Delhi government to pay up its share for the two Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects within a week and told the state to not force the court to revive its earlier order and deduct the money the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s advertisement budget. The order was passed after the Delhi government informed the court that it has already made a budgetary provisions for the RRTS project and was waiting for approval from the central government.

Ghaziabad , India - December 05 2023: The trial-run for 25km RRTS section connecting Ghaziabad to Meerut is likely to start within couple of weeks. A 17km priority section from Sahibabad to Duhai Depot was made operational on October 21 for passenger operations delhi meerut road in Ghaziabad , India on Tuesday, December 05 2023. (Photo by Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times)

The court was considering an application moved by the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) which accused the Delhi government of defaulting on the mutually agreed payment schedule for the project under which it had to pay a balance of ₹415 crore for the Delhi-Meerut RRTS and ₹150 crore for the other two projects — linking the Capital with Alwar in Rajasthan and Panipat in Haryana.

A total of ₹6,119 crore had to be paid by Delhi across six years for the three corridors.

A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “You can’t get away like this. This is not fair. It seems you will make us reactivate our earlier order.”

The apex court was referring to an order passed on November 21 when it directed Delhi to pay ₹415 crore for the Meerut project within a week or risk the same being transferred from the state’s advertisement budget for the year, which is ₹550 crore for the present year.

Senior advocate ANS Nadkarni appearing for NCRTC said that while it received the outstanding payment from Delhi for Meerut, the state did not release the allocated fund of ₹100 crore for Delhi-Alwar and ₹50 crore for Delhi-Panipat for 2023-24.

He added that the remaining states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan have already contributed their share in advance.

The Delhi government was represented by senior advocate S Muralidhar, the former chief justice of Orissa high court, who informed the court that the budgetary allocation has been done for ₹150 crore and the same will be paid once the two projects get the Centre’s nod.

Attorney general R Venkataramani appeared for the Centre and informed the court that the Centre has no problem granting formal approval to the two projects and the same will be done soon. Detailed project reports submitted by NCRTC were pending consideration with the Centre.

“You cannot make new excuses every time. Why will you not pay when other states can pay...,” the bench said as it directed the amount of ₹150 crore to be released within seven days.

The order added, “Needless to say, the Delhi government will abide by the (payment) schedule and will not give an opportunity for the court to revive its November 21 order.”

The court was assisted in the matter by amicus curiae and senior advocate Aparajita Singh who pointed out that every state linked with the project is supposed to pay as per schedule, yet the problem was only with Delhi.

She pointed out that the RRTS was proposed as a measure to reduce the pollution load of Delhi by cutting on vehicles entering the Capital from the national capital region. On two occasions in the past, the Supreme Court allowed the Delhi government to pay ₹265 crore and ₹500 crore towards the project out of the Environmental Compensation Charge (ECC) funds. This fund was collected as a green cess from commercial vehicles entering Delhi.

The court had in the past pulled up the Delhi government for failing to make budgetary allocations for the project and had in July sought details of the money spent by the state on advertisements and publicity after the state claimed to have no money to pay for RRTS.

An affidavit filed by the Delhi government disclosed total spending of ₹296.89 crore in 2020-21, ₹579.91 crore for 2021-22, and ₹196.36 crore for 2022-23, adding up to a total of ₹1,073.16 crore over three years.