Delhi Metro records Rs76 cr loss

NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro suffered a rude jolt when CAG report 2004-05 put its loss for the financial year 2003-04 to the tune of Rs76.33 crores. While the revenue generated during the 2004-05 financial year was Rs72.26 crore, the total expenditure was Rs148.59 crore. And this loss becomes particularly alarming when compared to the losses incurred in the previous year; which was Rs32.45 crore.

The maximum expenditure was on salaries, wages, allowances and other employee costs. About 23 per cent of the total expenditure in the 2004-05 fiscal, was only in salaries and wages.

So, is Metro getting into a financial abyss like other government-run corporations? No, says Delhi Metro rail Corporation (DMRC) chief public relation officer Anuj Dayal. “Out of 135 metros in the world, DMRC is one of the four which is making operational profit,” he said. Operational profit is the profit made on running the train. “The losses in the CAG report refers to the losses on initial investment and the loan taken from Japan,” said another Metro official.

Metro’s first phase, which was completed last year, covers a distance of 62 kilometres, of which 12 kilometres are underground and the remaining 50 kilometres are on elevated corridors. The work on the second phase has started and the third phase which aims to connect the suburbs like Noida and Gurgaon has been cleared.