No plans yet to buy back Metro-1 from Reliance, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told DNA that the state has no plans yet to buy back the Versova-Ghatkopar Metro-1. The corridor is owned by Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL).

As a result, interestingly, Metro-1 will be the only Metro corridor to not be handled by the MMOCL. The Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited (MMOCL) was formed recently in order to put all Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) Metro corridors under one umbrella agency.

The 12-km-long Metro-1 between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar was built upon a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in 2014. It is operated by the MMOPL. Around 69 per cent stakes of the Metro are owned by Reliance Infrastructure, 26 per cent by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and five per cent by France-based Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also heads the MMRDA, approved the formation of a separate company called MMOCL with a start-up capital of Rs five crore. Besides heading all Metro corridors in MMR, the MMOCL may be given the charge for operating the corridors that are under construction in Navi Mumbai and the Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor along with all upcoming corridors in MMR.

When asked whether the MMRDA or the state government has any plans to buy back the Metro-1 from Reliance Infrastructure, Fadnavis said, "Not as yet."

The Maharashtra government along with MMRDA and MMOPL is caught in a tussle over the actual cost of construction of Metro-1. While MMOPL says it is over Rs 4,000 crore, MMRDA says it isaround Rs 2,300 crore.

Explaining the same, a state government official said, "Intellectually speaking, it makes sense to buy back the Metro-1 from Reliance Infrastructure but currently the project cost of the same is under arbitration, and also we are pushing for an audit by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to ascertain the exact project cost of Metro-1. At this stage, it is very natural that without there being clarity over exact project cost, buy back by the state government will not possible."

For ten years, the Mumbai Metro-1 project has been surrounded in knee-deep controversies ranging from the delay in construction followed by difference of opinion over the fixing of fare for commuters along with dispute over the final construction cost of Metro-1.

FUTURE OF METRO

The Mumbai Metro-1 project has been surrounded in knee-deep controversies ranging from the delay in construction followed by difference in opinion over the fixing of fare for commuters along with dispute over the final construction cost of Metro-1

The Metro-1 easily carries more than 3.50 lakh commuters daily on an average during weekdays. Commuting by Metro is expected to increase drastically in the next five years considering that more than 150-km of Metro corridors are under-construction in the Western, Central suburbs and south Mumbai at present.

Intellectually speaking, it makes sense to buy back the Metro-1 from Reliance Infrastructure but currently the project cost of the same is under arbitration and also we are pushing for an audit 
A state government official