Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) may step in from next month to operate its Airport Metro line after refusal by Reliance to do the same.
Reliance Infra-led Delhi Airport Metro Express Private limited (DAMEPL) had earlier written a letter to DMRC stating its inability to continue with the operations after Sunday night. The notice was rejected by Delhi Metro.
“The Board decided to reject the notice and call upon them to continue the operations of the line in terms of the Agreement. If, however, they do not do so, DMRC shall step in and operate the line in larger public interest,” said Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Urban Development Ministry and Chairman, DMRC.
Delhi Metro and DAMEPL have been at loggerheads over the corridor when some serious defects were found in the structure of the airport metro corridor. Operations on the Airport Metro Line were suspended July 8 last year and were restarted in January.
The urban development ministry had set up a committee comprising officials from the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and Reliance Infrastructure to look into the nature of the defects.
Built at a cost of Rs.5,700 crore ($1.2 billion at the exchange rate then), public-private project, the DMRC was to carry out civil works of the airport project and a consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure was to operate the line for 30 years and share the revenue.
(With Agencies Inputs)
