Alright, gather around folks. It's time for a little story about the Supreme Court, Arvind Kejriwal's Delhi government, and a considerable sum of money (to the tune of Rs 415 crore) that's needed to pull off a spectacular show called the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. Now, this story got a bit more interesting on Monday when the Supreme Court set a two-month deadline for the AAP Government to pull together this pretty penny. Our source? Good old PTI, the news agency.

Now, Justices S K Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, who were probably quite bemused by the whole situation, noted a peculiar fact. Over the last three years, the AAP Government, it seems, spent a whopping Rs 1,100 crore on advertisements. Oh, you heard that right! As it turns out, while they've been claiming they don't have the funds for this joint project, they've been splashing the cash in the ad world. The Supreme Court, probably suppressing a chuckle, asked them to produce records of these ad expenditures.

Let me set the stage for the star of our story, the Delhi-Meerut RRTS. This fantastic project will connect Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Meerut through an 82.15 km long semi-high speed rail corridor, under construction as we speak. It's part of the ambitious Phase I of the RapidX project overseen by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). So, basically, Delhi's about to get its own version of The Flash!

This rail system, with a top speed of 180 km per hour, will make the Delhi-Meerut journey in less than 60 minutes. Let's pause for a moment and picture Kejriwal doing that speed in his little blue Wagon R! The project will boast 22 stations and two depots at Duhai and Modipuram for train maintenance.

Now, here's where it gets really funny. This project isn't just a Delhi affair. It's being funded by the centre, the Uttar Pradesh state government, and three external agencies — the Asian Development Bank (ADB), New Development Bank (NDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Maybe Kejriwal's been too busy crafting his top-notch advertising campaigns to remember he's not in this alone!

Don't forget that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself laid the foundation stone for the RRTS on 8th March 2019. It seems like a rapid mass transit rail corridor in the national capital region is more than just a pipe dream, or a line item in an AAP budget spreadsheet.

Now, imagine the scene in the Supreme Court. There's Kejriwal's government, staring down the barrel of having their ad fund attached by the court because they're not coughing up their agreed share for the RRTS project. So, on Monday, they caved and agreed to make the budgetary allocation for it, promising to clear the backlog in instalments, with the first chunk of Rs 415 crore coming within two weeks.

Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Himanshu Dhulia put the squeeze on the Delhi government, making it clear that it was time to pay the piper or risk losing their beloved ad budget. It's a bit like telling a kid to finish their veggies or no dessert. The court couldn't help but notice that the Delhi government's publicity spend in the 2021-22 financial year was even more than the Rs 415 crore needed to complete the RRTS.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior advocate representing Delhi government, argued that Delhi was strapped for cash due to non-reimbursement of GST by the Centre and Covid-19 pandemic impacts. Of course, this was after promising the court that they would allocate funds for the project and asking to release the amount in instalments. The court accepted the plea, but not before pointing out a little something.

The bench told them, "Your advertisement funds are more than the amount needed. Pay for the projects in which other states are also paying," and gave them two weeks to cough up Rs 415 crore. But hey, who's counting when there are great ads to be made, right?

Aparajita Singh, the senior advocate assisting the court as amicus curiae, let the bench know that the Delhi government had spent a cool Rs 1,073 crore on advertisements over the last three fiscal years. Can't make this stuff up, folks!

But hold on, the government actually defended this expenditure. They claimed, "The funds allocated for publicity purposes are aimed at maximising the reach and impact of government policies, ultimately benefiting the public at large." Apparently, they've been spending to bridge the gap between the government and citizens and to ensure that their programs and schemes reach the intended beneficiaries. Well, it's certainly one way to justify a billboard or two!

Three RRTS projects are planned to connect Delhi to Meerut, Alwar, and Panipat. The Delhi-Meerut corridor will cover the distance from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi to Modipuram, Meerut, in 60 minutes. The estimated project cost is Rs 31,632 crore. The central government, Uttar Pradesh, and the Asian Development Bank have paid their share. The central government's contribution is Rs 5,687 crore, UP's share is Rs 5,828 crore, and Delhi's share is Rs 1,138 crore.

So there you have it. Tune in next time to see whether Delhi manages to cough up their share for the RRTS project, or if we'll be seeing fewer AAP ads and a few more trains instead.