After SC Rap, Delhi Government Transfers Rs 150 Crore For RRTS Corridor To Panipat And Alwar

Following the Supreme Court’s intervention, the Delhi government has released Rs 150 crore as first instalment of its contribution towards the construction of Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat Regional Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) corridors.

While Rs 100 crore is for Delhi-Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror line, the remaining amount will be spent on the Delhi-Panipat corridor.

It may be recalled that on 13 December, the apex court had ordered the Delhi government to pay its share for construction of two rapid rail transit system within a week.

The top court, in response to a plea filed by the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC), instructed the Delhi government to adhere to the predetermined payment schedule for these projects, and warned that it could revive a previous order to deduct the money from its advertisement budget in case of default.

NCRTC, mandated for implementing the RRTS project across the National Capital Region, in its plea, had complained about Delhi delaying payment of its share of Rs 100 crore for the Delhi-Alwar corridor and Rs 50 crore for the Delhi-Panipat corridor for the fiscal year 2023-24.

As per the details submitted by the NCRTC, the Delhi government will need to make payments of Rs 2,443 crore and Rs 3,261 crore for the Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat corridors respectively. The total share of Rs 5,704 crore, will have to be paid in six years in pre-decided annual instalments till 2028-29.

The payment plan entails Rs 1,050 crore in the financial year 2025-26, Rs 1,300 crore in 2026-27, Rs 1,304 crore in 2027-28, and Rs 1,000 crore in 2028-29. Additionally, in the fiscal year 2024-25, Delhi is required to remit Rs 800 crore for the Delhi-SNB corridor and Rs 100 crore for the Delhi-Panipat line.

Funding Constraints

The RRTS is a new rail-based system with a designed speed potential of 180 kmph and operational speed potential of 160 kmph, making them semi-high speed train sets.

The 82-km-long Delhi-Meerut corridor is one of the three priority corridors planned for implementation in the the National Capital Region in the first phase.

The other two corridors include the 198-km stretch of Delhi-Gurugram-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex)-Alwar and the 103-km Delhi-Panipat stretch. Both these project are currently under consideration and yet to be approved by the the Public Investment Board (PIB).

According to a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 13 March 2023, the Delhi government has refused to provide financial support for the Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat RRTS Corridor.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, in its reply, said that the Detailed project reports (DPRs) with approval and financial commitment of the Haryana government for the Delhi-Panipat and approval with financial commitment of Haryana and Rajasthan for Delhi-SNB RRTS corridors have been received.

“However, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) has not agreed to provide financial support for Delhi-SNB and Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridors,” it said.

The RRTS — a brainchild of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) — was first mooted in 2012 to de-congest the roads and bring down pollution in Delhi, while ensuring high-speed connectivity between the Capital and its satellite towns Panipat in Haryana, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Alwar in Rajasthan.

The project is jointly funded by multilateral institutions, and by the centre and state governments, with the states contributing in proportion to infrastructure being developed in their territory.

For example, the Rs 31,632 crore Delhi-Meerut RRTS Corridor involves a 20 per cent contribution by the Centre, while the states of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are contributing 3.5 per cent and 16.5 per cent respectively.