‘Centre has no right to interfere’: DK Shivakumar on Bengaluru Metro fare hike

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said that it is the state government that took the decision to withhold the proposed Metro fare hike, adding that the Centre had no role in it.

Addressing a press conference in Vidhana Soudha, the Deputy CM, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, said, “There is no politics in this. The Centre doesn’t have any rights to direct us or interfere in this. The letter sent by the Centre doesn’t carry any weight. I have asked officials to revisit the fare hike by reworking the numbers”.

“I was under the impression that they would call for a meeting in Delhi about the metro fare hike. I was also eagerly waiting for their decision. There is more politics in this than reality. The meeting in Delhi has been postponed. Those who are declaring victory should have ensured a meeting and a final decision on this”, he said.

On the question of whether the State government asked the fare fixation committee for a hike in the fares, he said, “The Centre may have written a letter to withhold the fare hike, but there is no provision to do so in the law. Let them specify under which rule they have sent a letter to hold back the fare hike. The Fare fixation committee must be formed newly if a decision needs to be taken. I am working to become the voice of the people.”

“As per my experience and my interactions with experts, the Centre doesn’t have any right to instruct or recommend fares until a new fare fixation committee is formed. The new committee, once formed, will issue directions on fares. Not that those who wrote the letter don’t know this. The local MPs are talking about it. The state government hasn’t asked for any fare hike. The fare was hiked as per the decision taken by the previous fare fixation committee,” he explained.

Reacting to statements by BJP leaders crediting themselves for the rollback of the fare hike, he said, “Let anyone take the credit. My fight is for the people and not for credit. Any decision should not be a burden on neither the people nor the metro. I am not working under any pressure. Both the people and the BMRCL have to do well”.

“No one has spoken to us about the fare hike. Nothing has been discussed. Nor have we directed them to increase the fares. The decision to increase the metro fares by 5% was taken one year ago. The people who are talking about it today did not say a word when the decision was taken?,” he questioned.

“There are three parameters to decide on fare hike — OMR expenses, CPI, staff salaries, unit costs and energy costs. I have instructed the officials to rework their costs and revenues and come back. I have instructed them to withhold the fare hike until then,” he added.

“There have been comparisons between the metro fares of Bengaluru with other cities, but they are not comparable. For example, the security operations in the Delhi metro are being handled by the Centre. While we handle the security in Bengaluru, we are paying GST for that as well. The State government has given Rs 1064.32 crore for the repayment of ‘cash loss’. We have also given Rs 4,002.23 crore to the Centre towards loan repayment. On the whole, we have given Rs 5,066.55 crore”, he explained.

Regarding the timeline for withholding the fare hike, he said, “There is a process, can’t put a timeline to it”. On claims that only the Bengaluru Metro was being politicised, he said, “There are only ‘trunks’, mics and voices here. Has anyone spoken about fare hikes in Delhi or Hyderabad? No one has spoken about it. One MP has been talking, and you have been publishing his photos.”

On Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka’s demand to the state government to write a letter to the Centre stating that it doesn’t have any role in the fare hike, he said, “He can say whatever he wants before the media. If he speaks to me about it, I will respond.”

On whether he would seek the formation of a new fare fixation committee, he said, “We are not going to get into that now. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will do what is possible currently. This is our land, and we will do whatever needs to be done to help our customers.”

Regarding whether people can be hopeful of a fare reduction by 5 per cent, he said, “We have instructed officials to rework the numbers. All organisations have to take into account the variations in costs and revnue and similarly, BMRCL also has to take these into account.”

Clarifying whether the fare hike falls under the jurisdiction of the state government or the Centre, he said, “It doesn’t come under anyone, it comes under the fare fixation committee. Representatives of the state government used to be in that committee, not now.”

When asked if the fares would be revised as per the old committee, he said, “We don’t have powers to do that. Neither the Centre, state nor BMRCL has the power to fix fares until a new fare fixation committee comes into being”. (ANI)