The State Bank of India has filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to recover Rs 416 crore from the Reliance Infrastructure Ltd-promoted Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd, which operates the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor.
Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Infrastructure owns 74% of the special purpose vehicle, MMOPL, which manages Metro 1, while MMRDA owns 26% of it. According to sources, Reliance Infrastructure disclosed this situation on August 2 to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The company secretary’s letter to both the stock exchanges stated: “MMOPL is seeking appropriate legal advice and will take all appropriate steps to protect its interest in the aforesaid matter. The financial implication on the Company cannot be ascertained and is contingent upon the final outcome of the said proceedings and subsequent legal challenges.”
On March 7, 2007, MMRDA and MMOPL signed a concession agreement. The project, which was developed through public-private collaboration, is expected to cost a total of Rs 2,356 crore.
MMOPL, on the other hand, disputed this sum and asserted that the project’s cost had increased to Rs 4,321 crore in an earlier attempt to justify a ticket increase. The operator had claimed that its demand for a viability gap fund from the government had been lowered to Rs 650 crore from Rs 1,252 crore.
