New Delhi sources have stated that firing a fresh salvo in his ongoing tussle with the Centre over the upcoming hike in Delhi Metro fares, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday offered to take over the Metro and "run it efficiently without increasing fares".
Meanwhile when responding to a letter by Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in which the latter had asked the Delhi government to provide an annual grant-in-aid of about Rs 3,000 crore if it wanted the fare hike to be put on hold, Kejriwal wrote back saying that the Delhi government was willing to bear half the revenue loss if a matching grant was provided by the Centre.
Moreover in his letter, Kejriwal said the Centre and Delhi government were
50:50 owners of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and its equity etc
were shared in this proportion all along. He said "Let an assessment be
made of the financial gap likely to be created on account of the postponement
of the second fare hike and we will be able to bear half of it".
