Chief Secretary M.M. Kutty was ordered by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry not to institute an inquiry into the hike in Delhi Metro fares that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had asked for, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said here on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the Centre had directed the Chief Secretary to deny Mr. Kejriwal’s request earlier this week. Mr. Kejriwal had asked the Chief Secretary to initiate an inquiry done by the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC) into the reason for the fare hike, which was implemented from Tuesday.
The AAP government has come out against the increase in fares.
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Referring to a letter from the Ministry to the Chief Secretary, Mr. Sisodia said that the communication vindicated the AAP government’s stand that the officer was acting on orders of the Centre.
‘Not a PSU’
he letter, sent by officer on special duty (urban transport) Mukund Kumar Sinha to Dr. Kutty on Thursday, says that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is not a State Public Sector Undertaking. Since it is a 50-50 equity partnership of the Central and State government, and a Board-operated government company, the Delhi government has “no authority” to investigate its functioning, the letter states.
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The letter added that the State government and the DDC both did not have the “competence” to look into the Metro’s affairs.
Bus ridership increases
“The Metro is not a profit-making company for the government. It is supposed to provide the citizens of Delhi affordable public transport. There have been reports that the ridership of the Delhi Transport Corporation buses has increased after the Metro fare hike. We are making the Metro unaffordable,” he said.
Referring to the committee set up by the State Assembly to investigate the fare hike, Mr. Sisodia said the probe was on and that the committee had the right to do so.