Mumbai Metro One Ownership Dispute Resolved
Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra), owned by Anil Ambani, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) together own Mumbai Metro One, the city’s first metro project under a partnership. The Maharashtra Cabinet, led by Eknath Shinde, has given initial approval for this.
Anil Ambani’s 74% stake in Mumbai Metro One is valued at ₹4,000 crore. This partnership, established in 2007 under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, has faced disagreements. R-Infra owns 74% of the company, while MMRDA owns 26%.
A retired IAS officer’s report, approved by the state cabinet, valued R-Infra’s stake at ₹4,000 crore, using financial models. The project faced issues like costs, commercial use of metro premises, ticket prices, and fare hike requests by MMOPL.
MMRDA disputed MMOPL’s claims of losses, despite being a busy metro. Disagreements also arose over project expenses, with MMRDA estimating construction costs at ₹2,356 crore, while MMOPL claimed ₹4,026 crore. Additionally, BMC requested property taxes from MMOPL.
In 2020, amidst COVID-19 losses, MMOPL asked the state and MMRDA to buy its stake, sparking further disagreement. The government rejected the high purchase price advised by financial and legal experts, causing criticism of favoritism towards Anil Ambani’s group.
