The company operating the Metro railway has demanded Rs 1,000 crore from the state government for it to continue with cheap fares. It has also demanded an operational subsidy of Rs 21.75 crore per month and permission to “fully monetize“ real estate to limit fares in the current Rs 10-40 band.
A fare fixation committee (FFC) recommended a fare band of Rs 10-110 in a report submitted on July 8. The RInfra-promoted Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) submitted its proposal for state support to avoid increasing fares on July 29, said sources. The proposal, addressed to the chief secretary , states, “If the business fails to generate adequate revenue to meet the cost to operate the (Metro) line, it would be extremely difficult for operations to continue.“
On its demand for an operational subsidy , MMOPL says, “(It) is required to compensate the revenue that shall be foregone by MMOPL by charging a lower fare than the fare recommended by the FFC.“
The proposal cited the opinion of the FFC's dissenting member, JK Banthia, who had said, “The government...(can be invoked) to consider the apportioned increased cost to the MMRDA and provide an outright grant to MMOPL to mellow down (its) financial burden in public interest.“
No comments:
Post a Comment