Image Source : FILE Delhi Metro dealing with monetary misery owing to Covid pandemic
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been dealing with monetary stress with losses to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore through the heydays of the pandemic induced lockdown. Metro operations have been halted throughout lockdown for a interval of roughly six months, which drastically affected income from passenger journey.
At the identical time, working bills together with Operation and Maintenance (O&M) prices needed to be repeatedly paid for the maintenance of the metro community which spans 285 stations and a complete observe size of 389 km. Additionally, there had been a decline within the non-fare income garnered from the commercial in addition to store leases for the months when metro operations had been suspended.
The DMRC has round 400 stores at its stations. Owners of those retail retailers have expressed their incapability to pay lease to the DMRC on account of no gross sales. Even now, when the metro providers have been resumed, it has been accomplished with sub-optimal capability on account of following strict social distancing norms.
In addition, the Delhi Metro had taken a smooth mortgage of Rs 35,198 crore from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a concessional charge of 1.2-2.3 per cent for 30 years. For the monetary yr 2020-21, DMRC is required to pay Rs 1,242.8 crore of which Rs 434.1 crore is the curiosity whereas Rs 808.7 crore is the principal quantity. However, until July 2020, DMRC had been capable of pay solely Rs 79.2 crore as curiosity cost.
In the wake of monetary misery, the DMRC has turned to hunt monetary help from the Central Government, Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh governments. It is learnt that the DMRC has written to the Central and state governments requesting monetary assist. It is but to be seen whether or not the Central and the state governments come to the rescue of the DMRC since they too are reeling below a excessive fiscal deficit.
This is for the primary time that the Delhi Metro is dealing with operational losses. Since 2002, the DMRC has by no means confronted an operational loss owing to effectivity in operations and world-class service requirements.
To tide over its monetary stress, the Delhi Metro is brainstorming progressive strategies of income era. The DMRC is following a two-pronged technique of curbing expenditure wherever doable and deferment of non-essential expenditure. It has determined to scale back perks and allowances of its workers to about 50 per cent within the coming monetary yr and in addition requested the Centre to defer the cost of its mortgage installment to JICA for the yr 2020-21.
A Parliamentary Committee report had advised progressive strategies of income realisation for the DMRC. The common non-fare income of Metro, internationally, comprising of income from ads, property leasing and consultancy is near round 40-50 per cent of whole visitors income. However, for the DMRC, non-fare income accounts for under 15 per cent, which is abysmally low.
In order to deal with this problem, the committee advised leasing of current property i.e. observe and rolling inventory, leasing of economic areas at stations, commercial payment, parking payment in addition to income era by levying a cess on residential property improvement of close by areas which have seen an enhancement in worth owing to metro operations.
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