‘You’re So Powerful’, Can’t Get BMRCL To Publish Fare Fixation Report On Namma Metro? Karnataka High Court Asks In Plea By BJP’s Tejasvi Surya
The Karnataka Excessive Court docket on Monday (July 7) issued discover to the Bengaluru Metro Rail Company Restricted, (BMRCL), State and Centre on a petition by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya looking for a course to the BMRCL to forthwith publish/launch the Fare Fixation Committee Report which was headed by former Justice R Tharani.
Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav issued discover to the respondents returnable per week after subsequent week.
Throughout the listening to the courtroom orally noticed, “You might be so highly effective you can not get the BMRCL to try this a lot additionally?”.
To which the counsel for Surya replied, “Max we are able to do is write to them, even the general public can also be behind them, we meet the Managing Director of BMRCL instantly, however they aren’t responding. They’re saying that they’re ready for the state authorities’s approval. I fail to know that no discretion might be exercised by BMRCL, the act doesn’t give them any discretion.”
The petition states that Surya being a Member of Parliament representing the constituency that’s primarily served by Namma Metro, in addition to a commuter, made three formal written calls for to BMRCL on April 28, 2025, Might 8, 2025, and Might 15, 2025, looking for publication of the FFC report. Nonetheless, BMRCL has didn’t act on the identical.
It additional asserts that the petitioner can also be a daily commuter of Namma Metro, having used it for each private {and professional} commitments for the reason that graduation of its operations. Therefore, the Petitioner is instantly affected by the choices taken by BMRCL, it states.
It’s claimed that the mentioned Fare Fixation Committee submitted its report with suggestions for revised fare construction on December 16, 2024, after finding out metro methods in India and globally, together with visits to Singapore and Hong Kong. By the use of Media Launch dated 08.02.2025, the BMRCL intimated most people concerning the receipt of the report of the FFC recommending the revised fare construction.
Based mostly on the suggestions of the mentioned Committee, BMRCL applied a considerable fare hike on February 9, 2025, rising fares by as much as 100% in some instances, with most fare rising from Rs. 60 to Rs. 90, making Namma Metro the most costly metro system in India.
Nonetheless, following public outcry and intervention on the a part of the Petitioner, BMRCL revised the fare construction on February 14, 2025, capping the utmost enhance at roughly 71%, it’s said.
It’s mentioned that “BMRCL, being an instrumentality of the state, should make sure that its coverage selections ought to not be exercised in an unreasonable and unfair method in order to create hardship for the general public at massive. Moreover, rule of purpose, rule in opposition to arbitrariness, guidelines of honest play and pure justice are a part of the rule of regulation relevant on actions taken by state instrumentalities in coping with residents.”
Additional, the petitioner, in addition to different residents of Bengaluru, have a professional expectation of transparency within the functioning of the BMRCL based mostly on the established and constant apply throughout metro rail firms within the nation.
It’s mentioned that previously, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad metro rail firms have duly printed such studies for the good thing about most people thereby reflecting transparency in public governance and decision-making course of.
Thus, BMRCL’s failure to publish the report regardless of a number of reminders and comply with ups is unfair and with none rational foundation, the plea claims.
Case Title: LS Tejasvi Surya AND Bengaluru Metro Rail Company Restricted & Others.
Look: Advocates Anirudh A Kulkarni, Akshay S Vasist, Aravind Suchindran, Vasista R For Petitioner.
Case No: WP 19524/2025
