Why pay Cidco surcharge on CR tickets, asks RTI activist

Times of India: Navi Mumbai: Sunday, 22 March 2015.

According to information provided by the office of chief information commissioner (CIC) to RTI activist and state AAP member, Ravi Srivastav, Cidco has collected Rs 456.56 crore till December as surcharge from CR to pay for the Harbour line infrastructure and Vashi creek bridge.

Srivastava has questioned Cidco on the commuters' need to pay surcharge even after more than two decades.

Cidco officials, however, said they cannot stop levying the surcharge as they are yet to recover the full railway infrastructure cost, which was incurred to develop Navi Mumbai over the past 27 years or so. "The surcharge is not only for Vashi bridge. We built other infrastructure related to the railway line. We had also floated bonds worth Rs 250 crore for which we are still paying interests," said the chief PRO of Cidco, Mohan Ninawe.

Based on the procured RTI documents, the interests and liabilities of the bonds floated by Cidco now amount to Rs 747.42 crore.

Srivastava also questioned the hike in the surcharge from Rs 2-3 till 2012 to Rs 5 in February 2013. Commuters travelling in and out of Navi Mumbai have to pay Rs 5 as surcharge, that has been added to the local train fare by the CR. "A one-way train ticket from Vashi to CST costs Rs 15 because a surcharge of Rs 5 has been added to the ticket fare of Rs 10. So a commuter has to pay Rs 10 as surcharge for a back-and-forth commute, as per the original agreement between CR, Cidco and the state government," he said.

He added that he will agitate and also move court if the authorities do not stop this surcharge.