Delhi govt spending only on freebies, not infrastructure: HC

The Delhi high court on Monday again criticised the Delhi government for prioritising “doling out freebies” over crucial infrastructure funding, admonishing the administration for allegedly failing to release money for repairing a defective flyover.
A bench led by chief justice Manmohan had on Friday reprimanded the AAP government in Delhi for its failure to upgrade city infrastructure, underscoring that politicians were neither collecting nor spending any money for the city’s development and were only spending on freebies.
On Monday, the bench once again expressed outrage – this time over the Public Works Department (PWD)’s alleged laxity in sanctioning funds for rectifying defects of a flyover.
“They [Delhi government] have no money. They collect no money and they spend no taxes. They only spend on doles and freebies. Hospitals are 95% complete and they aren’t sanctioning funds…At the pain of contempt, we get money. One Stop Centres (OSC) aren’t getting money. This is not fair,” the court said.
The court’s observations came in response to a plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Jitendra Mahajan, who sought court directions for the government and its departments to repair and reopen a flyover near Nathu Colony Chowk built by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) in 2015 in Shahadara.
Responding to the court’s question why the money was not being released despite the admission that it is unsafe for public, DTTDC’s counsel submitted that they were willing to rectify the structural defect in the flyover, provided the expenses were borne by the Public Works Department (PWD). It also brought the court’s attention over PWD’s alleged failure to pay ₹8 crore to the contractor that constructed the flyover.
Seeking exemption from the case, PWD said that the structural defect cannot be rectified by its rehabilitation unit as the initial flyover was constructed by DTTDC.
“Keeping in view the aforesaid, this court is not able to understand as to why the two wings of GNCTD are opposing each other when it is an admitted fact that the flyover is unfit for public,” the court said in the order, while asking the Delhi government’s counsel to seek instructions.
Last week, on Friday, the same bench came down heavily on the authorities for its “spending on freebies”, underlining that the city’s civic administration had collapsed, and the political class was busy “selling slogans”.
“They are only spending it on freebies. Freebies will not make your infrastructure; they will only ensure that you remain where you are. Today the only thing the political class is doing is selling slogans and we are buying it,” it remarked.