Shri Shahnawaz Hussain did try to make a partisan point that this project was initiated by the NDA Government. It was naturally rebutted by Shir Jagdish Tytler who put the whole issue in historical perspective. But I do not like to enter into a debate on such petty issues. This is a project of which all of us can be and should be legitimately proud of. To make this project a success, the Government of India, irrespective of who ruled it, has spared everything possible; money, the influence of the Government of India and land at the disposal of the Government of India. We have provided so much land to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation that has been able to use it not only for buliding the project but also for using it as a source of revenue. At least twenty per cent of the revenue comes from commercial exploitation of the land given by the Government of India. We continue to give this land at a fairly low cost so that Delhi Metro can exploit it legitimately and reduce the burden. Sir, while the Government of India and the Government of Delhi have spared money and the Government of India availed of general assitance from Japan, we have also tried to see that the fares do not rise beyond a point. Sir, even when in urban local bodies, we give such an essential thing as water; we try to tell the urban bodies to recover at least expenses to cover operation maintenance. The fares today are not unreasonably high and on the contrary they are not high enough to yield any income to us. They are only high enough to not even to adequately cover operation maintenace expenses. I do not think that we should use this august forum to make unsustainable populistic demands. Sir, a reference has been made to the inadequate compensation. I think this conception or perception.
