Centre agrees to Kejriwal’s proposal on review of Metro functioning

Syed Ali Ahmed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 18

The Union government agreed to the suggestions of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for review all the issues of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) functioning by an independent group, sources said.

Kejriwal has suggested to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs that “an independent expert group, acceptable to the Union and Delhi Governments, be set up immediately to review all the issues” relating to functioning of the DMRC.

This suggestion was made in a letter on October 12 to the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri.

In the letter, Kejriwal called for rationalisation and restructuring of the DMRC for which a review of the organisation, management, control and accountability of the DMRC is required for coming out with cogent recommendations. In another letter on October 16, Kejriwal suggested that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs should allow the initiative of the Delhi Government to examine matters relating to the DMRC, the sources said.

According to the sources, in his reply to these letters of the Chief Minister today, Puri agreed to the suggestion of a review by an expert group acceptable to both the governments and invited Kejriwal for talks at his convenience on the terms of reference of the study and related matters.

He further clarified that the letter written by the OSD (Urban Transport) in this ministry to the Chief Secretary of Delhi on the October 12 stated that the Metro fare hike cannot be enquired into by either the Delhi Government or the Central Government as per the provisions of the Metro Act and no unilateral inquiry could be initiated into other matters of the DMRC, since both the governments are equal equity share holders in the DMRC.

Puri stressed that the suggestions made by Kejriwal in his two letters amounted to endorsing this stated position of the Central Government.

Puri said, “Contrary to the public perception created, inadvertently or deliberately, regarding an inquiry into the current hike in the Delhi Metro fares on the recommendations of the statutory fourth Fare Fixation Committee and the functioning of the DMRC, the above three letters, read in conjunction do suggest, I believe, a certain shared position. I am happy about this”.