The total number of individuals who have not received information, under the Right to Information Act, on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro is only increasing by the day.
“Ever since the Metro has been inaugurated, it has become difficult to get information on the transport system or the project,” said RTI activist Anil Galgali. According to him, this was not the case earlier.
Around three months ago, Galgali had sought information on ticketing revenue, rentals earned by leasing out stalls or shops at Metro stations, ridership figures, etc. But till date he has been waiting for a response, as repeated reminders to RInfra-led Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) haven’t yielded any information.
Additionally, three RTI applications by this correspondent to get safety certifications, reports and notifications of Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety, Research Design and Standards Organisation and Railway Board on the project too met with the same fate, as the MMOPL did not share the documents despite repeated reminders.
In this case, the state information commission judged in mid-November that as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) does not possess the information, it is not in a position to share the same and thus not responsible for it either.
Even ex-chief information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi had made an RTI application with the MMOPL, but he was directed to approach MMRDA.
Although chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had tweeted on January 10 that a committee to decide Mumbai Metro fares has been formed, an RTI application filed by Anil Galgali with the union ministry of urban development has showed that no order has been issued on constitution of the committee.
