Tejasvi Surya moves Karnataka High Court against secrecy over metro fare hike report

Bengaluru

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court against the Karnataka government and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), alleging “arbitrary and opaque conduct” over their refusal to make the Metro Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report public. The petition (WP No. 19524/2025) is scheduled for hearing on Monday.

In a post on social media platform X, Surya lashed out at the state government and BMRCL for keeping the FFC report under wraps, even though it allegedly recommended a steep 130% fare hike—a decision that has sparked criticism and led to a reported decline in Metro ridership.

“It is outrageous that the BMRCL and the Karnataka government continue to keep the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report secret—a report that recommended a steep 130% hike in Metro fares,” he posted.

Surya  on Friday led a protest against BMRCL in front of Lalbagh demanding the immediate commissioning of the long-delayed 19-km Yellow Line of Namma Metro, connecting RV Road to Bommasandra.

Key concerns raised

• Lack of Transparency: Surya said the report has been withheld despite repeated RTI applications and representations over the last three months.
• Public Accountability: He questioned why Bengaluru remains an exception, when FFC reports for other cities like Delhi have been made public.
• Foreign Visits on Public Funds: The MP highlighted that the committee undertook foreign visits funded by taxpayers, yet its findings have not been shared with the public.
• Impact on Commuters: He claimed that the fare hike has made Namma Metro the most expensive in the country, making daily commuting unaffordable for many middle-class Bengalureans.

BMRCL recently implemented a substantial fare hike across various slabs, triggering public backlash. Urban mobility experts and civil society organisations have criticised the lack of public consultation and transparency in the process. While fare hikes are typically reviewed and recommended by an FFC constituted under the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, the findings of this committee in Bengaluru’s case have not been disclosed—a deviation from the norm followed in cities like Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

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