Mumbai: The fare structure of the upcoming metro lines in Mumbai will be same as the one which is in force for the corridor currently in operation, said an officail Tuesday. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the nodal agency of metro lines, said the fares charged to passengers of the Mumbai Metro One corridor will be extended to the upcoming lines of the rapid transport system. Mumbai Metro One, the city's first 11.4km long corridor, operates on the high-traffic Versova-Andheri- Ghatkopar section and it currently has a fare slab of Rs 10 to 40.

Two more metro lines are under different stages of construction. MMRDA Commissioner R A Rajeev said, "The fare structure of the upcoming metro lines will be same as currently applicable in Metro One line. "Fare slab of Rs 10 to 40 is quite justifiable and fare. The fare slab of Rs 10, 20, 30 and 40 are quite reasonable."

Speaking at an event organised by media in a hotel here, the IAS officer said there is some confusion about Metro One running into loss. "If you set aside the capex of Metro One and if you see only the operation cost, then its EBITA is positive. I also want to stress out that financial aspect is not going to affect the execution of other big ticket projects anyway."

The existing metro line has a daily ridership of over 4.5 lakh. All the metro lines will surely prove to be a game changer," he said. Speaking at the event, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Ajoy Mehta defended the provisions made in Development Plan (DP) 2034.

He said four major issues, including affordable housing and creation of jobs, have been addressed in the DP 2034. Mehta said, "The first and foremost issue is housing. Other issues are creating additional jobs in the financial capital of the country, facilitating qualitative life and not compromising on open spaces, green cover etc."

"The fourth major issue is to improve the life of marginalised sections of the society by helping them to maintain pace with development. For this, we have made a number of provisions for various sections like working women and divyangs," he said.