Passenger fares are set to rise sooner than expected with the government deciding to institute a Rail Tariff Authority (RTA) through an executive order instead of losing precious time by taking the legislative route.
On Thursday, while approving the RTA proposal, the Cabinet directed the Law Ministry to initiate the process through an executive order, underlining the urgency to improve the financial situation of the Railways forthwith without any delay.
The government intends to get Parliament approval for RTA as that is a long drawn process that needs more than six months. By establishing the authority through an executive order, the government would be saving time and obtain the first ruling from the authority for raising passenger fares.
