Hardeep Singh Puri: Special Metro fares for elderly, students likely

New Delhi: Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said he proposed the Delhi Metro to evolve a mechanism to offer special or discounted fares for students and senior citizens to offset the burden of fare hike on them effected last year.

The said technology has to be developed to implement the scheme and ensure it is not misused.

“At least, there should be some special fares for senior citizens and students. We have already proposed that to the Delhi Metro. I’ve asked the Delhi metro chief to find out some way. We will do it,” he said.

Mr Puri, however, said the initiative should not be considered as “populist” and that it would be within the framework of the law. Stressing that technology was a great tool to prevent corruption, Mr Puri said a solution would be found out through technology that would assure that benefits reach the targeted group and is not misused.

Currently, there has been no discount on fares for any category of passengers travelling on the Delhi Metro.

The former bureaucrat, however, did not specify any time-frame for implementation of the special tariffs for students and senior citizens.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is a joint venture between the Centre and the Delhi government. Its fares are revised on the recommendation of a Fare-Fixation Committee (FFC).

The Delhi Metro fares were hiked by up to 100 per cent across multiple distance slabs last year after two-phase fare hike effected in May and October on recommendation of the FFC, chaired by justice (retd) M.L. Mehta, which also had the Delhi chief secretary and the additional secretary of the Union ministry of urban development on board.