NEW DELHI: Taking a dig at Delhi government’s proposal to allow free ridership for women in Delhi metro, the Supreme Court on Friday said that sops and loss claims do not go hand-in-hand. The apex court said the plan, if implemented, would make Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) an unprofitable venture.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta was hearing the Delhi government’s plea that the Centre must share 50% of the land cost and taxes for the expansion of Delhi Metro’s Phase IV.“On one hand it (Delhi government) is extending sops but in court it wants direction to centre to bear 50% operational losses, if incurred. If you allow people to travel free then it will be a problem,” the court said.
Justice Mishra further said, “Here you talk about losses and fighting for sharing costs. You handle public money. Court is not powerless to order proper channelisation of funds. Self-treated bankruptcy should not come in the way.”It asked the authorities concerned to ensure that no delay is caused in the Phase IV project.