INTRODUCTION
According to a report released by the National Institute of Urban Affairs, the urban population in India is estimated to increase to 590 million by 2030. This indicates the rapid growth in the population of urban cities and this growth has highlighted the need for an advanced transit system. Metro rail has provided an affordable solution to this by coming out as an efficient, cost-effective and safer mode of transportation. It excels in transporting a large number of people over short distances within a city, surpassing cars and buses. The system of the metro train is electrically powered, producing zero emissions, which makes it environmentally friendly as well.
Looking back, the first Indian metro ran in 1984 in the city of Kolkata. Multiple Indian and foreign authorities had contributed towards the making of this metro system, which was also the first underground metro in the country. After Kolkata emerged as a metro city, Delhi followed by becoming the second metro city with a combination of both underground and elevated metro systems. It grew as the most expensive and expanded metro city in India with a successful plan, design and execution for its metro system. Talking about 2024, the metro network spans 973 kilometres across 23 cities in India. Currently, three central acts regulate the operation, maintenance and construction of metros in India. But as this network is expanding at a faster rate, there is a need for a single and comprehensive legislation for all the metro projects in different cities.
OVERVIEW OF THE THREE METRO ACTS
Currently, the metro rail projects in the country are ruled by three main acts that are :
- Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978 – Enacted in 1978 by the Parliament of India, the act deals with the construction of metro railways in the metropolitan cities in the country. Initially, it applied to the first metropolitan city that was Calcutta (now Kolkata). A special provision was put in the act which gave the Central Government the power to extend it to other metro rail systems as well. For this, the central government, by notification in the Official Gazette, had to declare the application of this act to the National Capital Region, other metropolitan cities and metropolitan areas. This was done after consultation with the state government under which that metropolitan city or area fell. This special provision ensured that the act doesn’t remain limited only to Calcutta but also expands to other parts of the country as they develop the metro. To date, there have been two amendments to this act. One took place in 1982 and the other in 2009.
- Calcutta Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Temporary Provisions Act, 1985 – It was enacted as a temporary legislation for the operation and maintenance of the Calcutta Metro Railway. This act also allows the central government to take control over the management of the Calcutta Metro Railway in certain circumstances. It was enacted to make sure that the Calcutta Metro Railway was functioning properly and it also safeguarded the interest of the public. It contains the duties and responsibilities of the Metro Railway along with the penalties for non-compliance. It consists of 23 sections comprising definitions, reservations of seats, penalties for smoking or drinking inside the metro, powers to make rules, etc.
- Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 – Initially named as Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, this act governs the operation of the metro rail systems in India. It applied only to the National Capital Territory of Delhi when it was first enacted in 2002. An amendment was made in 2009, giving the Central Government the power to extend this act to any metropolitan city or area only after consulting the State Government. There is an exception to this act that prohibits the Centre from extending the Act to the metropolitan city of Kolkata. The act mainly consists of the powers and functions of the metro rail administration. It outlines the procedure of acquiring land for metro rail projects. It highlights the responsibilities of metro rail employees and safety measures that need to be taken to provide safety to the passengers. Under this act, a Metro Rail Appellate Tribunal can be established to hear appeals against the decisions taken by the Metro Rail administration. This ensures that the decisions taken by the metro rail administration are not absolute and are subject to change.
CHALLENGES FACED DUE TO FRAGMENTED LAWS
Due to fragmented legal frameworks on metro railway projects in India, several challenges are faced while operating and maintaining the metro in India.
- Overlapping Objectives – The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978 and the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act,2002 appear to have similar objectives, such as the construction of works, operation and maintenance of metro railways in the metropolitan areas of the country. Instead, the government should come up with a single and comprehensive legislation that would include all these objectives together.
- Faulty DPRs – DPR stands for a Detailed Project Report. It includes the details about the tasks and resources that are required to make a project successful. The laws that presently govern the metro rail projects in India do not have a proper DPR due to which their aims and objectives aren’t clear.
- Lack of PPP Framework – The PPP framework means a public-private partnership, which involves private capital financing government projects. The current Central Metro Act does not facilitate the PPP model. However, there are few instances where the metro projects of the government are financed by private entities. For example, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. And Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) together built the Mumbai Metro Line-1 project between Ghatkopar and Varsova on the PPP model. So, there is a need to include this model in the legislation.
NEED FOR A ROBUST ACT
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs, in its 16th report, has flagged the need for a single and robust law for all the metro rail networks in the country as opposed to the existing three central metro acts. A unified legal framework will ensure that all the objectives of the metro rail projects are compiled in a detailed document. As the metro network has expanded to several cities and construction is taking place in more than 20 cities, it is important to have a single and comprehensive law to govern the construction, operation and maintenance of this network in all the different cities.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, three acts currently govern the metro rail projects in metropolitan cities and areas. But a need has been felt for a single law that would include provisions for the construction of works, operation and maintenance of metro rails in India. Having a unified legal framework would ensure that the legal process gets simplified. All the provisions would be compiled in a single legislation making it more detailed. A single law can also inculcate new provisions that would fill the gap in the current acts. There is no specific act that sheds light on the low ridership from the metro among the public. This can be addressed in the new legislation. Also, the existing acts are somewhat lacking when it comes to the efficient development of metro rail systems in India. This gap can be filled by the new comprehensive law by ensuring that more and more Indian cities could become metropolitan at a faster pace.
Author(s) Name: Anjali Ranjan (Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) New Law College, Pune)
