‘Metro fares won’t change till Jan 8’

The present fare structure of Rs10-15-20 for the Metro service will continue till January 8, 2015, the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) told the Bombay high court (HC) on Saturday.

The present fare structure of Rs10-15-20 for the Metro service will continue till January 8, 2015, the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) told the Bombay high court (HC) on Saturday.

Janak Dwarkadas, counsel for MMOPL, informed the division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice BP Colabawalla the decision has been taken as the fare fixation committee has not yet been set up by the Centre.

The Centre told the bench the proposal for setting up the fare fixation committee, as envisaged under provisions of the Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, was at an advanced stage and the committee was likely to be notified by January 31.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) challenging a June 24 order of a single-judge bench. The bench had rejected MMRDA’s plea seeking an order restraining the metro operator and its chief promoter Reliance Energy Limited from charging in excess of what they had agreed with the authority.

The MMOPL began Metro operations by charging a promotional fare of Rs10 for each passenger, irrespective of the distance travelled. It, however, proposed to introduce a fare structure of Rs10-20-30-40: Rs10 for first 2km, Rs20 for 2-5km, Rs30 for 5-8km. Currently, it is charging Rs10-15-20.

The MMRDA then approached the high court insisting the fares should be between Rs9 and Rs13, as provided in the concession agreement signed between them seven years ago.

The fare fixation committee, comprises one nominee each of the state and the Centre and is headed by a retired HC judge.