Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday directed Chief Secretary M. M. Kutty, who is a member of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Board, to convene an emergency meeting of the body over the proposed metro fare hike.
In a statement, the Delhi government said that another fare hike — within five months of the previous one — would overburden commuters and bring down ridership.
It claimed that metro ridership had fallen by 5% in June and again in August — compared to corresponding periods in 2016 and 2015 — due to the first round of the fare hike, which came into effect in May.
The 16-member DMRC Board has three Delhi government representatives: the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary (Finance) and the Transport Secretary.
“The CM directed Mr. Kutty to apprise the Board about the notice for convening an emergency meeting on the demand of the Delhi government,” the statement read.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Mr. Kejriwal and attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Mr. Kutty, Principal Secretary (Finance) S N Sahai, Transport Commissioner Varsha Joshi and other senior officials.
Ridership hit
The DMRC’s own data shows that the fare hike in May resulted in a decrease in ridership by 5% in June 2017, while in the same month in the last two years the ridership had gone up by 8% and 9% respectively.
“Furthermore, in August this year, the ridership showed a decrease of 5% as compared to an increase of 8% in August for the previous two years,” it said. If the hike is effected, the fares will go up by a maximum of ₹10.
Meanwhile, the AAP’s Trade Wing, which has representatives from several traders’ bodies, wrote to Union Minister of State with Independent Charge in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, requesting a roll-back of the proposed hike.
“An increase in fares will automatically nudge traders, who utilise the Metro, towards using their personal vehicles. This will not only have an effect on pollution but also trigger more congestion on the streets,” said AAP Trade Wing convenor Brijesh Goyal.