TimesView The Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC), struggling to cover operational losses every year, has increasingly been disregarded by the state government. The continuous drop in ridership, which has grown into a major concern, has failed to wake the government up from its slumber and make efforts to devise viable policies. Despite being a project started during the Congress regime, it remains neglected. The Metro route remains the shortest in the country and financially non-viable. The second phase, which is supposed to attract more commuters, is yet to commence. The government, at the earliest, must appoint an official who could revive the corporation. It should also try to create a dedicated fund for the project.

JAIPUR: Once touted as one of the most ambitious projects of the previous Congress government, Jaipur Metro today seems to be a lacklustre venture.Currently, Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRC) has neither any new project nor any top bureaucrat to steady its affairs. The worst part is that no official seems to be willing to fill the post of managing director of the corporation. Even, the state government does not seem to give its management a priority after it became a loss-making entity. This has resulted in the delay of the phase IB project.The additional charge has now been given to UDH principal secretary. However, sources claim that in the absence of day to day monitoring, the operation and ongoing Metro project's progress is facing a major setback.An official source at JMRC said, "Underground corridor in Walled City is at last stage of completion. In absence of dedicated MD, many issues are likely to be not resolved timely, due to which project is expected to be delayed further. The JMRC has to pay Rs 20 crore to the contractors. However, it does not have money in its account. A speedy correspondence is required with state government for which a top bureaucrat is required who could oversee daily progress."The Metro is proved to be a white elephant for the state government as it fails to achieve target ridership on Phase-I (Mansarovar to Chandpole) in absence of Phase 1B (Chandpole to Badi Chaupar) corridor.Wilbur Smith, an international firm, which conducted the ridership survey, estimates 1,21,000 commuters till 2018 on the entire stretch. However, as phase IB continues to miss several deadlines and commercial operation has not started yet, the financial situation of department remains bleak.As per the data, available with TOI, the Metro is making an expenditure of Rs 40 crore per annum on maintenance against the income of approximately Rs 15 crore. Sources said, "The state government had to release Rs 70 crore from the Rajasthan Transport Infrastructure Development Fund (RTIDF) in financial year 2018 -2019. But only Rs 20 crore has been received. Per annum Rs 28 crore is disturbed in salaries of staff," sources said.As bureaucrats are avoiding to anchor a loss-making entity, the state government has also formulated rules for selection of managing director, who should be necessarily not an IAS officer.Source said, "The proposal has been approved in the Metro board meeting and now waiting for state government's nod. Like Delhi and Mumbai Metro an engineer or any other could head the department."As per the (JMRC) assessment, the project is staring at an annual operational loss of Rs 41 crore for the next five years too. The loss is calculated at 60% of the ridership. The amount will rise up to Rs 71 crore a year if the loss is calculated at 20% ridership. As phase IB, corridor is delayed and no earning has started yet it would be also a challenge to repay Rs 969 loan taken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The state government's instalment will start from June 2021.For example, even if the JMRC receives 60% ridership in 2020-2021, the annual losses for operational will be Rs 29 crore. "The route is very short and not feasible. Serious efforts are required to bridge the gap between operational cost and expenses including creation of dedicated Metro fund. For all this a long term planning is required and state government should appoint a MD for the same," added sources.