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The government has moved to amend Metro Rail (Operation & Maintenance) Act, 2002 to ensure no attachment of metro railway properties by the courts. Once enacted, this will apply to all the metros and regional rapid transport systems (RRTS).
The ruling by the Delhi High Court in the matter of Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL) Vs Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) prompted the amendment.
At present, 605 km of metro lines are operational in 20 different cities and about 991 km of metro rail projects (including Delhi-Meerut RRTS) are under construction in various cities of the country.
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The proposed amendment prescribes restrictions on execution against metro railway property.
“No rolling stock, metro railway tracks, machinery, plant, tools, fittings, materials or effects used or provided by a metro railway administration for the purpose of traffic on its railway, or its stations or workshops or offices or earnings or any parcel of land held by Metro Rail Administration shall be liable to be taken in execution of any decree or order of any court or of any local authority or person having by law the power to attach or disdain property or otherwise to cause the property to be taken in execution,” the amendment said.
Earlier, it was said that the Central government can sanction the attachment, now this line is proposed to be removed.
Sovereign guarantees extension
Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court directed the Central and the Delhi governments to attend to the request of the DMRC for an extension of sovereign guarantees and subordinate debt so that it can liquidate its liabilities under the award passed in favour of Reliance Infrastructure-owned DAMEPL.
Sanction of attachment of properties of DMRC was denied by the Central government as that would entail the closure of DMRC and bringing the entire city to a halt. A situation of this kind would not only cause inconvenience to lakhs of the common people of Delhi-NCR but also lead to an alarming situation where law and order in the city could be at stake.
“The Central government being a custodian of the public good cannot allow such a lethal situation to arise,” an office memorandum (OM) by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said.
Further, the OM said that the Ministry is of opinion to amend Section 89 to make it absolute so that no attachment of properties or bank accounts or any asset of any metro railways properties can ever be carried out.
The Ministry has invited comments to finalise the amendment bill.
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