Amended law sought to save Metro assets

NEW DELHI: The Union minister for housing and urban affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, has directed that amendments be introduced in the Metro (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 to prevent the attachment of properties or assets owned by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in the future.

Puri’s directions came after the Delhi high court, hearing an execution petition filed by Reliance Infrastructure-promoted Delhi Airport Metro Express Limited (DAMEPL) over a 2017 arbitral award against DMRC, on February 27 sought the Centre’s stand for grant of sanction to attach DMRC properties towards unpaid dues it owed the private contractor. The minister is the competent authority to grant sanction for attachment of Metro assets.

In a note, Puri said he directed “the division to revisit Section 89 of the Metro Act, 2002 and amend the same to make it absolute, so that no attachment of its properties or bank accounts or any assets or operations can ever be carried out.” HT has seen a copy of the note written by Puri.

Section 89 (1) of the act mandates that 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 work

{ HARDEEP SINGH PURI } UNION MINISTER

Any adverse outcome leading to a situation where the public utility grinds to a standstill could lead to a serious law and order problem...

shops, or offices shall be attached or taken in execution of any decree or order of any court or of any authority without the prior sanction of the central government.

Following the high court’s poser on February 27, the Centre on March 2 told the court that it cannot give sanction for the attachment of properties of DMRC to pay the dues of the 2017 arbitral award as this will cause the Metro to shut down and bring the national capital to a halt.

Puri’s note said the Centre is being asked to decide to give sanction to attach DMRC properties to pay a company “which abandoned/deserted the services of the airport metro line in the first few years of a 30-year-contract”.

Saying he is “appalled” at the high court’s query, the minister said the Delhi Metro meets the commuting needs of almost six million people on a daily basis. “Any adverse outcome leading to a situation where the public utility grinds to a standstill could lead to a serious law and order problem... I am appalled that we are even being asked to consider something like this,” he said.

The minister also cited an earlier observation of the division bench of the HC where it had held that the arbitral award suffers from perversity, irrationality and patent illegality in the form of confusion and ambivalence as to the termination notice and the date of termination.

“In light of the above, permission for attachment under section 89 of the Metro Act, 2002 is explicitly denied,” Puri said in the note.

The high court will continue hearing the case on March 7.