No plan to increase fares of Mumbai mono rail: Govt

The Maharashtra government has no plan to increase the fares of mono rail service in the megapolis, the Legislative Council was informed today.
Congress member Anant Gadgil, speaking during the Question Hour, sought to know if the government plans to raise the fares to narrow the losses the service is incurring.
"Apart from running the mono rail service, the government spends about Rs 20-25 lakh extra in providing security to the commuters. Therefore, there is a total deficit of around Rs 40 lakh while running the service," he claimed.
"Does the government plan to increase the fares to make up for the deficit? If not, how will the government make up for the losses?" he asked.

In reply, Minister of State for Urban Development Ranjit Patil said the government has no plan to hike the fares.
"When we started the service, no thought was given to profit and loss that would be incurred in the future. Mono rail was introduced to reduce the burden on local trains," Patil said.
"Mono rail reaches places where metro and local trains do not. While it is true that our cost on security has gone up by Rs 20-25 lakh, government has no plans to increase the fares," the minister informed the Upper House.