NEW DELHI (Metro Rail News): The Delhi government informed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in a letter that it was not inclined to contribute the $3,565.64 crore in equity needed as part of the payment for the arbitral award received by the Reliance Infrastructure company Delhi Airport Metro Express Ltd (DAMEPL), the company informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
The Delhi government clarified this by stating in its letter that “shareholders of DMRC cannot be held accountable for payments arising out of disputes or contractual defaults,”. Including that the company can borrow money from the Indian government or raise funds on the open market or through externally supported funds to pay its debts.
The high court is hearing the Delhi government’s position as part of a case involving the implementation of a $7,200 billion arbitration judgement in favour of the DAMEPL. DMRC has paid 2,600 crores of the 7,200 crores in outstanding debt. It currently owes DAMEPL an unpaid balance of 4,500 crores.
This came after the top court requested that the high court consider the case within three months.
Reliance Infrastructure owns Delhi Airport Metro Express, whereas the government owns Delhi Metro. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Government of National Capital Territory are the two largest shareholders in DMRC.
The board of directors of DMRC were to consider asking the board’s consent at the board meeting held on December 13 to ask the Delhi government and MoHUA—both major stakeholders—to assume financial responsibility for the arbitral ruling that favoured the DAMEPL.
DMRC began its rights offering to generate money on December 15 and will end it on January 11. The government letter, however, is now quite likely to cause a delay in the procedure.
