Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said the party would approach court against the fare hike of Delhi Metro. He also questioned why the AAP Government did not do so if it was against the hike.
Suggesting way to solve out the fare crisis, Maken said that according to Director's Report 2016-17, the total ridership of the Delhi metro was 100.79 crore and the maximum fare hike in the 4th Fare Fixation Committee was Rs 10, thus the weighted average can be taken as Rs 7.5 and the impact of fare hike is 7.5x100.79 crores that is Rs 755.92 crores. So, only Rs 755.92 crore per year needed to subsidised the fare hike so that the commuters may be benefited," he said.
The report of the 4th fare fixation committee (FFC) was with the central government and the Kejriwal government for past 15 months but they both did not challenge the fare hike, Maken told reporters.
"Is the report so sacrosanct and binding that it cannot be challenged in a court of lawIJ" he asked. The Delhi Congress will challenge the fare hike in the court, if the Delhi government fails to do so, Maken said.
Based on a recommendation of the 4th FFC, the Delhi Metro effected the fare hike, leading to a rise of around Rs 10 for nearly every distance slab last month. This came barely five months of another hike of up to 100 per cent.
The FFC pointed that the fare of Airport Express line is less than the maximum fare recommended by the 3rd FFC, but the DMRC proposed no changes in its fare, Maken claimed. "This means that the 4th FFC report is not binding on the government to implement it in totality," he said.
Citing Mumbai Metro fares, he said that the Maharashtra Metropolitan Rail Development Authority had challenged fare hike recommended by fare fixation committee in the HC and the fare increase was stayed. Maken demanded that the Centre and the Delhi government subsidize the ticket rates.
However, Maken said that the total revenue of the Delhi Metro from traffic operation is only about Rs 1,765.38 crore in the financial year 2016-17 so the figure of Rs 3,000 crore annually required for five years given by the Centre is far away from the truth.