Maharashtra govt to seek Advocate General's view on appealing Mumbai Metro fare hike

The government is looking to contest the Bombay High Court's order permitting an up to Rs 40 hike in ticket prices

The Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra has sought the state advocate-general’s opinion whether or not to challenge the Bombay High Court order allowing Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) to increase the fares for the Versova-Ghatkopar via Andheri metro corridor to Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 40 from Rs 10-15-20. MMOPL has subsequently hiked the fares from January 9, a day after the high court order.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said the government would explore the option of approaching the Supreme Court seeking a stay till the Fare Fixation Committee decides metro fare.

A senior minister told Business Standard, “The matter has been referred to the Advocate General seeking his opinion on various legal aspects. So far, the advocate-general has not yet given his view and, therefore, the government and its undertaking, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), will take a decision in this regard in due course of time.”

The high court's decision had evoked angry reactions from political parties, especially from the Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. Both the parties squarely blamed the BJP-Sena government for not being sympathetic towards metro commuters. They alleged that the government was keen to safeguard the business interests of a particular industry group.”

However, barely two days after the high court order the Centre appointed a Fare Fixation Committee headed by Retired Justice E Padmanabhan. The panel’s two other members are former state chief secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia and former Union law secretary T K Vishwanathan. The committee needs to decide on increase in fare within three months of the date of submission of tariff revision proposal.
 

The high court's decision had evoked angry reactions from political parties, especially the opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both of whom blamed the BJP-Sena government for not being sympathetic towards metro commuters. They also alleged that the government was safeguarding ADAG’s business interests.

MMOPL had told the high court that despite the fare hike, it will continue to incur a daily loss of Rs 62 lakh. Currently, about 2,70,000 to 2,80,000 commuters use the Metro; that number is expected to cross 300,000 in the next 20 days.