Finally, DMRC signs MoU with Haryana Govt to run Gurgaon Rapid Metro

Chandigarh (Urban Transport News): The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with the Haryana Government to operate and maintain Gurgaon Rapid Metro. The Haryana Government has entered into the new agreement with DMRC after the IL&FS driven operators Rapid Metro Gurgoan Limited (RMGL) and Rapid Metro Gurgaon South Limited (RMGSL) had decided to close its operations serving notice to Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

This information is shared by Advocate Chetan Mittal, the counsel of Haryana Government, on Tuesday during the hearing of ongoing petition related to this issue before the Punjab & Haryana High Court. He was representing the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) and  Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). However, the terms of operation and maintenance of Rapid Metro Rail not yet finalized hence the Court directed the IL&FS to continue the operation till September 18.

The matter would again come up for hearing on tomorrow before the bench of High Court. On September 9, the Court had passed an interim order to IL&FS to operate and maintain the Gurgaon Rapid Metro Rail till September 17 midnight as a licensee. However, the court had directed the Haryana Government to bear its operational cost. A Rapid Metro official said,

We asked HUDA to give us a commitment that it would pay us at least 80% of the debt. Since it was unwilling to do so, we said we will not be able to sustain operations. But later on, we asked the high court to appoint an auditor who can ascertain the dues and we informed the court that till such time we will continue operations.

The Gurgaon Rapid Metro is the country’s first fully privately-developed metro project which was built by the IL&FS. The company is now facing bankruptcy proceedings in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The Haryana Government was in close contact with the DMRC officials and talking was ongoing after the receiving notice from the IL&FS-led operator RMGL.

Earlier, it was expected that the DMRC would take over the operation & maintenance of Rapid Metro in February but the matter was pulled in the High Court. As per data shared by the RMGL, over 60,000 commuters using the Rapid Metro for their daily commuting. However, experts say that the main factors of failure of Rapid Metro in Gurugram were choosing the wrong location, routes, funding pattern and high cost.