NEW DELHI: Provide Rs 3,000 crore annual aid to DMRC for next five years if you want Delhi Metro to reconsider it's fare hike, Centre has told Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. While stating that the Centre has no right to ask DMRC to postpone the increase scheduled from Tuesday, housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri has written to Kejriwal saying any such move would be legally untenable.

Setting the stage for another slugfest with Delhi government, Puri has written a letter to Kejriwal putting the ball back in the AAP government's court. "In case the state government agrees to provide grants-in-aid of nearly Rs 3,000 crore per annum to DMRC, then another fare fixation committee (FFC) may be constituted which may examine the financial viability of DMRC in the context of state government's additional financial commitment."

He has added if the fares are not increased as per the recommendations of the FFC, the total grants-in-aid required in the next five years starting from 2017-18 till 2021-22 would be Rs 3,040 crore, 3,616 crore, 3,318 crore, 3,150 crore and 2,980 crore respectively to take care of loan repayments, depreciation for replacements and operational expenses with no savings to DMRC.

Puri has also said that as per the sanction of the Metro projects, the operational loss is the responsibility of the state government. He has cited how Delhi government provides Rs 1,600 crore financial support to Delhi Transport Corporation, which is not in good shape. "I am sure it is not our intention that the DMRC, which offers world class facility should meet similar fate," Puri said adding that DMRC should be allowed to function as an autonomous company in the best interest of the citizens.

The minister has even gone to the extent of blaming Kejriwal government for delay in completion of Phase-III while shielding the DMRC. Sources said the ministry had earlier raised questions on contract management for delay in meeting the December 2016 deadline. Puri has has also blamed the AAP government for delay in approval of Phase-IV of Metro project.

But the central minister has primarily kept his focus on the issue relating fare hike in his letter to Kejriwal and has rebutted all the assertions made by Delhi CM, which include Kejiwal's claim that FFC recommended a year's gap between the two fare hikes and an annual cap of 7%.