BMRCL receives Rs 124 crore from govt to tide over losses

The state government has released Rs 124 crore to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) to make good the operational losses it suffered during the 2020-21 financial year.

The BMRCL’s dependence to meet operational expenditure is likely to reduce this financial year as the train ridership has gone up.

As per the agreement, it is the responsibility of the state government to meet the cost of metro operations until it achieves operational break-even.

According to the BMRCL’s letter to the government, the transport utility suffered a loss of Rs 736.22 crore in 2020-21. So far, the Karnataka government has paid Rs 611.66 crore to the BMRCL. Other than the Rs 137.48 crore, the metro suffered an additional loss of Rs 298.04 crore till December 2021, which totals up to Rs 298 crore.

Proponents of public transport say the state government has been generous to Namma Metro while the BMTC, which serves over 35 lakh people, has not received adequate financial help.