Updated On: 22 April, 2024 07:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
RTI activist says report on acquisition, where Reliance Infra’s stake in Metro Line 1 is valued at Rs 4K crore, isn’t being made public

A Mumbai Metro train between Ghatkopar and Versova on September 19, 2020. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
A city-based RTI activist has alleged that the Maharashtra government has recently endorsed an acquisition deal finalised between the Mumbai Metro Blue Line 1 and the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) which could cause the state’s exchequer to lose Rs 1,600 crore. Alleging that the MMRDA has refused to share documents, he has demanded that public consultation be made before giving further approval. Launched in 2007, Mumbai Metro Blue Line 1, the city`s first Metro project, was set up under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. It has been the subject of controversies involving the joint venture partners.
Recently the state cabinet approved a report by retired IAS officer and former Chief Secretary Johny Joseph, which valued Reliance Infrastructure’s stake at Rs 4,000 crore. When RTI activist Anil Galgali asked for a copy of the report, MMRDA Deputy Transport Engineer Gajanan Sasane allegedly informed him a month after the RTI application was filed that the documents could not be made available as they were commercial in nature.