Delhi Government Slashes Advertisement Spending After Supreme Court Criticism
In a significant shift, the Delhi government’s advertisement expenditure plummeted to ₹26.2 crore in the fiscal year 2023-24, a steep decline from ₹186.2 crore the previous year, according to an RTI response filed by Bihar-based activist Kanhaiya Kumar. The reduction follows the Supreme Court’s reprimand last year regarding the government’s failure to allocate sufficient funds to the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project while maintaining a hefty advertisement budget.
The Supreme Court had warned the Delhi government in July 2022 that it would divert funds from its advertisement budget to cover its RRTS share if necessary. A bench, led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, highlighted that the Delhi government spent ₹1,100 crore on advertisements over three years—far exceeding its ₹415 crore contribution to the RRTS project.
Following the court’s intervention, the Delhi government conducted an internal audit and implemented substantial cuts in advertisement spending. Digital and television advertisements saw dramatic reductions, and newspaper ads, particularly outside Delhi, were curtailed. Full-page ads were scaled down to half or quarter pages.
The original budget estimate for advertisements in 2023-24 was ₹385 crore, which was subsequently slashed to ₹26.2 crore. An official indicated that the budget cuts were applied across all departments, focusing on cost reduction rather than the complete cessation of advertisements.
Looking ahead, the Department of Information and Publicity has earmarked ₹66 crore for advertisements in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Published: September 07, 2024, 01:24 AM IST
Original Story https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/after-sc-rap-delhi-govts-advt-expenditure-comes-down-by-86-reveals-rti/article68614350.ece
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