NEW DELHI: A day after Arvind Kejriwal expressed sadness over Delhi Metro becoming out of reach for the common man, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said the Chief Minister should instead look at the state of the public transport system that comes under his government and lacks 7,000 buses.
Reacting to a study, Kejriwal on Wednesday had said it is "very sad" that an important means of transport has become out of reach of the common man.
On Thursday, addressing the 13th Sustainability Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Puri said that Delhi has the fourth largest Metro system in the world, which is a first class asset and most affordable Metro anywhere in the world.
"If somebody wants to be sad, they should be sad about the fact that the other public transport in Delhi which comes under the Delhi government which has a sanctioned strength of 11,000 buses is about 7,000 short," the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs said.
A recent study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had found that after the fare hike last year, Delhi Metro has become the second-most unaffordable service in the world among the cities that charge less than half a US dollar for a trip.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led government and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to file their response to Congress leader Ajay Maken's plea for subsidising the Metro fare.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice VA Kameswar Rao issued notices to the Delhi government and DMRC on Maken's petition opposing the rise in fares. The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 27.
Maken's counsel and senior advocate Vikas Singh pleaded that the rise in fares has led to a sharp decline in Metro's ridership by around three lakh commuters.
He also contended that subsidising the Metro fare would make its service affordable, as well as reduce the road traffic and air pollution in Delhi.