Currently, ₹3000 is charged for every trip of monorail but L&T is demanding that ₹18,000 should be given for every ride which is a 5x hike in the rates.” MMRDA Additional Commissioner Sanjay Khandare told Mumbai Live.
The monorail is already facing a financial crisis and now the demand of hike by L&T is an addition to MMRDA’s woes.
As per the 2007-08 agreement, L&T-Scomi Engineering Company has taken the responsibility of running and managing the monorail. Also, the rates for a trip were been fixed at ₹3000 per trip. There is also a provision to increase the rate of tickets after three years. But due to the fiasco of the monorail, MMRDA has not been able to increase the rate and the company too, had not asked for a hike which resulted in L&T’s loss. Therefore, the company asked for a hike as the monorail cannot function under the current rates.
While MMRDA is leaving no stone unturned in bringing the monorail back on track, its journey has seen a lot of hurdles on the way. However, without providing sufficient capital, L&T would not be able to run the monorail and on the other hand, MMRDA is running short of funds. So, the authority will have to consider viable options for continuing the monorail service.
Khandare said that a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Transport Commissioner. The committee will make recommendations to MMRDA, studying all possibilities, and will give solutions regarding this. The future of the monorail will depend upon the committee’s recommendation.
Though the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is trying to bring the monorail back on track, snags for the locomotive don’t seem to be stopping. After lying eight months in the shed, the monorail was relaunched. However, once again the monorail has landed in trouble as the contractor company, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), who runs and manages the monorail, has demanded a higher rate for operating the rail service.