BackMumbai Metro fares to go up, court rules against government
The maximum fare on the 11.4km Versova-Ghatkopar line run by Mumbai Metro One is set to go up to Rs40 from the current Rs20
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Mumbai: Travelling by Mumbai’s Metro rail is set to get costlier, with a Bombay high court division bench on Thursday upholding a previous order by a single-judge bench, which allowed a fare hike.
The maximum fare on the 11.4km Versova-Ghatkopar line run by Mumbai Metro One Pvt. Ltd (MMOPL) is set to go up from the current ₹ 20 to ₹ 40.
The minimum fare remains at ₹ 10.
The MMOPL is a joint venture with the Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (R-Infra) holding 74% and the government body, Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, the remaining 26%.
In June, when Mumbai Metro’s first line became operational, MMOPL had announced that it would charge ₹ 10-40 as delays had pushed up the project cost from ₹ 2,356 crore to ₹ 4,321 crore.
Delayed permissions from the railway ministry, shifting of utilities, environment clearances and securing the right of way among others, led to delays which were beyond its control, the company contended.
However, MMRDA insisted MMOPL charge ₹ 9-13 as per their mutual contract and must approach the fare fixation committee (FFC) appointed by the central government before effecting any hike.
In a statement, MMRDA claimed that though the Bombay high court has allowed R-Infra to go ahead with the fare hike, it has directed the central government to appoint an FFC before 31 January, and this committee should decide the fare for line one of Mumbai Metro within three months.
But MMOPL said the initial agreement signed between the two in 2006 was under the Indian Tramways Act, 1902, and later, both parties had agreed that this contract should be governed by the Indian Metro Act, 2009, and that this decision was ratified by the central government, too.
According to the provisions of the Metro Act, the developer is free to decide the initial fare, and only for subsequent fare revision, he has to approach the FFC.
Since MMOPL’s argument was not acceptable to MMRDA, it moved the Bombay high court.
After a single-judge bench permitted the fare hike, MMRDA moved the division bench.
In the meantime, MMOPL continued to charge the promotional fare of ₹ 10 to ₹ 20.
On Thursday, the bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and Burgess Colabawalla rejected the petition as well as MMRDA’s plea that MMOPL stick to the agreed fare structure.
The bench also did not grant MMRDA’s request for a three-weeks stay for approaching the Supreme Court.
R-Infra gained 2.13% to ₹ 488.25 on BSE on Thursday, while the exchange’s benchmark Sensex rose 1.36% to 27,274.71 points.
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