Metro Fare Hike: Bombay HC disallows Metro One to hike fares till next 3 months
Bombay HC has asked the Union of India to notify a new FCC for deciding metro fares (Representational Image, Courtesy: MMRDA)
In a good news for Metro commuters, the Bombay High Court on Monday quashed the proposed fare hike for Reliance Infrastructure’s Mumbai Metro One.
Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) had filed a petition challenging Fare Fixation Committee’s (FFC) 2015 report, in which it allowed Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) a price band of Rs 10 to Rs 110.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Mahesh Sonak today struck down the earlier report and MMOPL’s proposal of hiking fares.
The court also asked the Union of India to notify a new FCC and tasked it with deciding the new fares for the metro within the next three months.
Meanwhile, MMOPL has been asked to continue charging the current fares and submit a statement about the excess fee charged to commuters.
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Commuters currently pay Rs 10, 20, 30 or 40 to travel on the 11.40 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro. MMOPL had proposed to hike the fares by Rs 5 to Rs 10, 20, 25, 35 and 45 for single journeys and Rs 10, 20, 22.50, 30 and 35 for return journeys.
The fare hike was first proposed in 2015, when MMRDA challenged it in court. Bombay HC ruled in MMRDA’s favour and stayed the hike. MMOPL later approached the Supreme Court, which asked it to approach the HC again.
MMOPL, meanwhile, proposed the hike on the grounds that it was unable to meet the operating costs or pay interest on the loan taken undertaken for the metro’s construction.
The company has also claimed to have lost around Rs 1,000 crores over the past three years due to the venture.
