'Why credit Centre for metro but blame State for fare hikes': CM Siddaramaiah calls out BJP's 'hypocrisy'

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday lambasted the opposition BJP for its "hypocrisy" in blaming the state government for the metro fare hike. 

"BJP leaders claim that the credit for constructing the metro goes to the central government but they blame the state government when people express anger over fare revision. This is hypocrisy," he said in a statement, two days after Namma Metro hiked its fares by 45-46 per cent after discounts. 

The current fares range from Rs 10 to Rs 90. On some routes, the hike is 100 per cent. 

Siddaramaiah stressed that Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was established as a 50:50 joint venture between state and Union government. 

The current chairman of the BMRCL's board of directors is Srinivas Katikithala, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. "As an autonomous body, the BMRCL is not entirely under the control of the state government," Siddaramaiah stated. 

Since there was no fare revision after 2017, the BMRCL had written to the Centre seeking approval for a fare revision. "If the power to revise fares was solely with the state government, why would the BMRCL write to the central government?" he asked. 

According to Siddaramaiah, the Centre constituted a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC), chaired by retired Madras High Court Judge R Tharani. 

The committee held discussions with BMRCL officials and visited metro authorities in Delhi and Chennai to study fare structures and operations, besides reviewing the BMRCL's financial performance. It submitted its report on December 16, 2024. Its recommendations are binding as per Section 37 of the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, he said. 

In June 2017, when fares were last revised, only the first phase (42.3 km) of Namma Metro was completed. The metro network has now expanded beyond 42.30 km, and will extend to 175.55 km by December 2026 with the completion of Phases 2, 2A and 2B. The Bengaluru metro fares range from Rs 10 to Rs 90, he said.