Free ride not at all possible in Delhi Metro
In a bid to regain base in the national Capital, Delhi Chief Minister, and Aam Admi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal‘s decision to allow free travel for women in Delhi Metro, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses raised eyebrows and it leads to multiple questions related to operational model and feasibility. Kejriwal’s announcement is a mere political gimmick to woo large chunk of women voters ahead of the assembly polls in January 2020.
Addressing the media last week, Kejriwal had announced that the proposal will cost Rs.700 crores to the Delhi government in the current fiscal year and it is being undertaken to enhance the safety and security of women.
BJP MP from North East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari asked four questions from Kejriwal the number of buses it would require to cater to “2.1 crores plus Delhiites”, the number of buses in Delhi when the latter took over the reins of Delhi in 2015, and if his administration cleared the proposal for Phase IV of Delhi Metro.
Kejriwal’s political opponents-BJP and Congress termed it a ‘political gimmick’ after the debacle in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls and stated that the proposal is not practical and feasible at any level.
The AAP, which swept the assembly elections in February 2015, fared very poorly in the national capital in the Lok Sabha elections. Of the seven seats in Delhi, the party failed to secure a single seat and came third in five of the constituencies and forfeited their deposits.
A number of questions remain on how the scheme would be implemented. Interestingly, the Delhi Metro has not yet been consulted on the matter.
Presently, there is no provision in the Metro policy to allow free ride or concession to commuters. Senior officials in the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said that Centre will have to bring amendments in the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 and Metro Rail Policy 2017 and pass it through the Parliament. Before amending the Acts in the Parliament, the proposal should be approved by the Centre cabinet.
Besides, the question is how the Delhi government estimated that it will cost the state exchequer around Rs.700 crores? Does the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have any estimate of the number of female commuters, which can help calculate the exact loss the DMRC may have to bear if the scheme is implemented?
Neither the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) nor the Delhi Metro seem to have any hard data on the number of women who use these modes of transport. The Delhi Metro website has a detailed list of ridership but the data in the list is not divided into categories like “female riders” and “male riders”. What mechanism would be adopted? At best Kejriwal can approve free rides on the DTC as it is totally under Delhi Government. But still DTC has run up huge losses and is facing acute hardships just giving a salary. Then why is Kejriwal doing this nonsense to fool the people?
Right now, technologically there is no system in place to do so. The ticketing system of the Delhi Metro does not segregate the tickets between men and women. So there is no way of estimating the number of women who travel by the metro rail daily. The tokens or the magnetic cards, which come with an in-built 10% discount, are the same for everyone. If the women are segregated and counted, how will the records be maintained? What will be the mode of reimbursement? Will the Delhi government pay some money in advance or will bills have to be generated by the Delhi for getting the payments later?
Can there be some technical intervention in the form of special magnetic cards for women? If so, how will the record of their travel be maintained separately? These are technical and logistic issues that need to be addressed if the Kejriwal government is keen to implement it.
Top sources of Delhi government said that allowing free travel in Delhi Transport Corporation and cluster buses run by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal System (DIMTS) may not be difficult while it is impossible and not practical to do so in the metro. “Currently, there is nothing in black and white till date. This is a mere announcement. Let the transport department proposal come,” said the sources. Delhi government has no budgetary provision for this scheme. The Delhi government and the Central government are 50:50 equity partners in Delhi Metro Rail Service.
Delhi government proposal will be put up before the Board of Directors of Delhi Metro for approval. Sources said that the proposal is expected to be rejected by the Board of Directors and there is no mechanism available to allow free ridership to women.
Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary is the Chairman of the Board. Delhi Metro Managing Director Mangu Singh and other senior officials of the Metro are the members. Delhi Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, and Transport Secretary are the representatives from the Delhi government. No political representatives from State and Centre are the member of the Metro Board.
Sources also pointed out that the Delhi government and the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry have not been on the same page over several issues related to the metro, including fare hike and Phase-IV of the Metro network and the Kejriwal’s proposal will remain on paper.
Lambasting the Kejriwal’s announcement, Congress leader Jai Kishan said that this is a political drama of Kejriwal. “Kejriwal has not digested his defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. His vote bank shifted to the Congress. He is worried to regain his vote bank ahead of the assembly polls next year. That’s why he has announced,” said Jai Kishan adding Kejriwal has destroyed the national Capital.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also questioned his move saying ‘yeh kissi ke fayede ke liye nahi hai yeh sirf unke fayede ke liye hai’.
BJP MP from North East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari asked four questions from Kejriwal the number of buses it would require to cater to “2.1 crores plus Delhiites”, the number of buses in Delhi when the latter took over the reins of Delhi in 2015, and if his administration cleared the proposal for Phase IV of Delhi Metro.
On the other hand, the AAP government said this policy decision will not need the approval of either the Lieutenant Governor (LG) or the Delhi Metro. Delhi has about 64.42 lakh women out of 1.41 crore voters. In the Lok Sabha election, they outnumbered men voters in three of the seven parliamentary constituencies – East Delhi, New Delhi, and South Delhi. Higher participation of women voters in these constituencies is understood to have pushed the victory margin for the winning candidates from the BJP, which won all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.
If Kejriwal loves the welfare of people, let him implement Central Government’s health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat in Delhi. The liar sinking Chief Minister’s days are numbered and he is out with all his lies and drama to fool people.
PGurus Managing Editor has written book on the frauds and lies of Arvind Kejriwal and his fake party AAP – ‘The Rise and Fall of AAP’[1].
References:
[1] The Rise and Fall of AAP – Amazon.in
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Kejriwal is a stupid liar. He lacks brain and clear thinking.
[…] earlier reported the non-viability of Kejriwal’s fake promise and his dubious ways in fooling […]
Liar Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal comes with free ride drama to fool people:
IIT product doesn’t know the difference between a PPP model of investment Policy and offering free rides or freebies without understanding Delhi pollution can be seen even on 4th floor walls thick coats!! He’s the creation of the national and international media to deny BJP a chance to rule Delhi after 21 years!
Govt subsidies should not be extended to daily life activities – bus ticket, metro tickets, food coupons, milk, biscuits, tea, ….etc., later people will expect their children also to be taken care by govt …endless.
there should not be any subsidy declared, unless the economics of that program are fully in public domain.