Twitter
Advertisement

Form panel fast to fix Mumbai Metro fares, Bombay High Court tells Centre

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The Bombay high court on Monday gave an ultimatum to the Union government to decide on the formation of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) which will finalise fares for the Mumbai Metro by September 18, failing which, the court would decide on the issue.

A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice MS Sonak has asked the Centre to file its affidavit by September 18 and inform the steps being taken by it for formation of the committee.

Even on the last hearing on July 23, the court had asked the Centre to clear its stand on the appointment of the committee.

"If the Fare Fixation Committee is not appointed and it does not take a decision (of FFC's appointment) till September 30, the court will consider the prayer on behalf of Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) for fare collection," the high court observed.

However, as the Centre failed to take any decision, the judges have given it an ultimatum on Monday.

Counsels for RInfra and MMOPL (a joint venture between RInfra and MMRDA), Iqbal Chagla and Janak Dwarkadas respectively, had informed the court that they would continue the promotional fares of Rs10, Rs15 and Rs20 till September 30.

Accepting the statement, the court has said that if the FFC is not in place by September 30, then MMOPL will have the right to charge fares it had fixed at the time of opening of the metro rail.

MMOPL had initially agreed to charge promotional fares till July 31, which will not be changed till the end of September.

The high court is hearing an appeal filed by MMRDA, challenging the previous single-bench order of the high court denying the state government the right to decide on fares of the recently-launched Mumbai Metro. MMRDA had previously challenged the fare hike announced by RInfra.

Justice RD Dhanuka had last month dismissed MMRDA's petition on the grounds that the MMOPL had the right to decide the initial fares till the Fare Fixation Committee arrived at a figure.

RInfra and MMOPL have contended that despite their communication to the authorities concerned in November 2013, the FFC has not been set up as yet.

According to MMRDA, the consortium had agreed on the structure under which fares were to be Rs9 (upto 3 kms), Rs11 (from 3 to 8 kms) and Rs13 (for more than 8 kms).
MMOPL has, however, fixed the initial fares as Rs10, Rs20, Rs30 and Rs40.

The single judge, while refusing to stay the metro fares, had observed: "Perusal of the agreement (between the parties) indicates that the MMOPL is empowered to fix the fares till decided by the FFC. Prima facie, the fares at the time of opening is to be fixed by respondent 3 (MMOPL) and not by the state government."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement