NEW DELHI: he Supreme Court on Tuesday sharply criticised the Delhi government for not clearing its overdue payment of ₹415 crore for the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) despite the top court’s order in July this year and ordered the money to be deducted from the state’s advertising budget, a direction that will take effect if the government fails to make the payment within a week.

“We are left with no option but to direct that the funds allocated under the advertising budget by the state for this year be transferred to the project.” a bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia said on an application by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) that the Delhi government’s hadn’t paid up four months after the top court’s order on July 24 that set a final two-month deadline.

The court paused implementation of the direction, giving the government one more week on the request of senior lawyer Meenakshi Arora who appeared for the Delhi government “At the request of the counsel, the order shall be kept in abeyance for a period of one week. If funds are not transferred for the project, the funds (from advertising budget) will stand transferred,” the bench said.

“You cannot take this court for granted… We will post this matter on November 28. We will see what you have done that day.”

As the bench earlier took up the NCRTC application, it lamented the government’s reluctance to pay up for the infrastructure project.

“What is to be done if this is the way states listen. Budgetary provision is something which the state government should do. If such national projects are to be affected, and money is being spent on advertisements, we would be inclined to direct those funds to be transferred to this project.”

At previous hearings, the top court had questioned the government’s contention that it did not have money to pay for the project and sought information on how much it spent on advertising. In July, it cited data provided by the Delhi government and reasoned that if the government could spend ₹1,100 crore on advertisements in three years, it could certainly pay for the infrastructure project.

In an affidavit in July, the Delhi government said its total ad spend over the last three financial years: ₹296.89 crore in 2020-21, ₹579.91 crore in 2021-22, and ₹196.36 crore for 2022-23, adding up to a total of ₹1,073.16 crore over the period.

Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus curiae, stressed the RRTS was proposed as a step to reduce Delhi’s pollution load by cutting down the number of vehicles that enter the national capital from nearby towns and cities.

The Delhi government was required to contribute ₹1,180 crore towards its share for the construction of the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor.

On two occasions in the past, the Supreme Court allowed the Delhi government to pay ₹265 crore and ₹500 crore out of the environmental compensation charge (ECC) funds to meet its liability. A balance amount of ₹415 crore was overdue, for which the Delhi government again sought to draw the sum from ECC. This time, however, the court refused.

On Tuesday, as the Delhi government sought additional time till December 5 to make the payment, the bench refused, saying this was “gross breach” of the order.

The RRTS project is an ambitious venture involving semi-high-speed rail corridors that will connect Delhi to three cities — Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Alwar in Rajasthan, and Panipat in Haryana — and is being executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), a joint venture between the Centre and the concerned states.

The Delhi-Meerut corridor is expected to become operational in 2025. NCRTC earlier informed the court that the Delhi-Alwar corridor, which passes through Rewari, is awaiting sanction by the Centre, while the Delhi-Panipat corridor is awaiting the Delhi government’s nod.