Rapid Metro to keep running till September 17

Cost of operation, maintenance to be borne by Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited

September 10, 2019 01:16 am | Updated 01:18 am IST - CHANDIGARH

The Rapid Metro in Haryana’s Gurugram will continue running till September 17 as the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon South Limited (RMGSL) to continue its operations and maintenance of the line.

A Division Bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi ruled that till September 17, the next date of hearing, the RMGSL will continue to operate and manage the Rapid Metro, subject to reimbursement of insurance, operation and maintenance cost by the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTCL).

Senior advocate Chetan Mittal, appearing for the HMRTCL submitted before the court that the contract between RMGSL and HMRTCL stood terminated from both sides. “There were a few disputes involved and the transfer of assets will take time. The key question is about payment of the debt amount for transfer. Transfer of assets is one part while operation and maintenance is another part, on which the petitioner is ready to negotiate. Even if petitioner has to pay some amount for operation, for the time being they are ready to pay. On the insurance cost also the petitioner is ready for negotiations,” he said.

He pointed out that between April and June 2019, the project had made a profit of nearly ₹4 crore. “The total revenue had been around ₹18 crore, while the cost of operation and other expenses was around ₹14 crore,” he added.

The HMRTCL and another petitioner had approached the High Court last week challenging the validity of the termination notice and sought the court’s directions on continuity of the metro by the Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Limited (RMGL) and RMGSL, the two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) floated by the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services for the rail project. The IL&FS is now facing bankruptcy proceedings in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), putting the rail service at risk of closure.

The two SVPs have been running the Rapid Metro since 2013 and 2017 respectively. The firms served termination notices to HUDA on June 7 alleging various breaches in concession contract and had given a 90-day notice as per the agreement. The HMRTCL and another petitioner had termed the notice “illegal, arbitrary and against larger public interest”.

The RMGL and RMGSL had on September 6 got approval from Justice (retd) D.K. Jain, appointed by the NCLAT to oversee IL&FS resolution process, to transfer the Rapid Metro to HUDA on September 9.

(With PTI inputs)

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