A Namma Metro train.
Credit: DH File Photo
Commuters of the Bengaluru metro are set to face an increase in the travel fares from February 9 after a 5 per cent hike was rolled out by BMRCL.
Karnataka Congress
Commenting about the metro fair hike, the Congress government in Karnataka has said that metro fares are not decided by the state government.
In a pots in X, Karnataka Congress said, "They are fixed under the Metro Railways (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2002, a Central law drafted and passed by the BJP."
"The State Government has no legal power to stall, revise, or roll back fares. Now about the ₹60 to ₹90 hike you are trying to dump on Congress."
"That decision came from a Central FFC, using a cost formula approved during BJP’s tenure," it added.
The post further read, "If Bengaluru has some of the highest metro fares in the country, the question is simple: Who controls the law? Who appoints the committee? Who chairs the board?"
The Karnataka Congress also said, "Congress has consistently demanded fair pricing within the limited space the law permits. We will not lie to citizens for political convenience. Bengaluru deserves accountability, not theatrics."
CM Siddaramaiah explains
Talking about the hike Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "Metro fares are NOT decided by the Karnataka Government. Under the Metro Railways (O&M) Act, 2002, fares are fixed by an independent Fare Fixation Committee constituted solely by the Government of India. As per Sections 36 & 37 of the Act, the Committee’s recommendations are binding on the metro administration, leaving no legal authority with the State Government or BMRCL to override them. Blaming Karnataka is therefore factually incorrect and deliberately misleading."
He added, "Why didn’t BJP MPs raise this forcefully in Parliament? Why didn’t BJP Ministers oppose high fare slabs at the Centre? This fare hike fits a larger pattern of the BJP-led Union Government hurting Karnataka, through reduced tax devolution, denial of fair grants, delayed infrastructure support, and now increased metro fares."
BJP blames Karnataka Congress
The hike has sparked a political backlash with BJP blaming the Congress for the metro hike.
BJP's P C Mohan in a post on X said, "Congress’s claim that the Karnataka Government has no role in Metro fare hikes is factually incorrect, legally misleading, and contradicted by official records. When all facts are placed on record, the conclusion is unavoidable: the Bengaluru Metro fare hike is a consequence of the Karnataka Government’s decisions."
"Congress’s claim that the Karnataka Government has no role in Metro fare hikes is factually incorrect, legally misleading, and contradicted by official records. When all facts are placed on record, the conclusion is unavoidable: the Bengaluru Metro fare hike is a consequence of the Karnataka Government’s decisions."
He added, "The Metro Act is not self-executing: It is true that Metro operations fall under the Metro Railways (Operations & Maintenance) Act, 2002. What Congress does not disclose is this crucial fact: A Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) is constituted by the Union Government only upon a formal request from the State Government. This has been explicitly clarified by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs in reply to a Lok Sabha question."
"In Bengaluru’s case, the request for constitution of the FFC came from the Karnataka Government, after it withdrew financial support to the Metro," he also said.
Mohan's post further read, "Karnataka Government demanded fare revision - Official records show that Karnataka’s Urban Development and Finance Departments communicated to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited that: a Fare revision was “imperative” to reduce the State Government’s financial burden; b. Metro fares should be revised annually using an automatic formula."