The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978

(1) This Act may be called the Metro Railways(Construction of Works) Act, 1978. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint. (3) It applies in the first instance to the metropolitan city of Calcutta; and the Central Governmentmay, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that this Act shall also apply to 2[the National CapitalRegion, such other metropolitan city and metropolitan area, after consultation with the State Government,and with effect from such date as may be specified in that notification and thereupon the provisions ofthis Act shall apply to the National Capital Region, such metropolitan city or metropolitan areaaccordingly.]

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Advisory Board" means the Advisory Board constituted under section 4; (b) 1["appellate authority"] means the appellate authority appointed under section 16; (c) "building" means a house, outhouse, stable, latrine, urinal, shed, hut or wall or any otherstructure or erection, whether of masonry bricks, wood, mud, metal or any other material or any partof a building, but does not include a plant or machinery installed in a building or any part thereof orany portable shelter; (d) "commissioner" means a commissioner of metro railway appointed under section 27; 2["(e) competent authority" means the competent authority appointed under section 16;] (f) "development" with its grammatical variations means the carrying out of building,engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land or the making of any materialchange in any building or land or planting of any tree on land and includes redevelopment; (g) "land" includes any right or interest in land; (h) "metro alignment", in relation to any 3[metropolitan city, metropolitan area and the NationalCapital Region] means such alignment of the metro railway as is specified in the Schedule under thatcity and includes the metro railway; 4[(ha) "metropolitan area" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (c) of article 243P ofthe Constitution;] (i) "metro railway" means a metro railway or any portion thereof for the public carriage ofpassengers, animals or goods and includes,-- (a) all land within the boundary marks indicating the limits of the land appurtenant to a metrorailway, (b) all lines of rails, sidings, yards or branches worked over for the purposes of, or inconnection with, a metro railway, (c) all stations, offices, ventilation shafts and ducts, warehouses, workshops, manufactories,fixed plants and machineries, sheds, depots and other works constructed for the purpose of, or inconnection with, a metro railway; (j) "metro railway administration", in relation to any metro railway, means the General Managerof that metro railway; (k) "metropolitan city" means the metropolitan city of Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi or Madras; (l) "metropolitan city of Bombay" means the area covered by Greater Bombay as defined in theBombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 (Bombay Act III 1888); (m) "metropolitan city of Calcutta" means the area described under the heading l. CalcuttaMetropolitan District in the Schedule to the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Area (Use andDevelopment of Land) Control Act, 1965 (West Bengal Act XIV of 1965); (n) "metropolitan city of Delhi" means the entire area of the Union territory of Delhi; (o) "metropolitan city of Madras" means the area covered by the City of Madras as defined in theMadras City Municipal Act, 1919 (Madras Act IV of 1919); 5[(oa) "National Capital Region" means the National Capital Region as defined in clause (f) ofsection 2 of the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 (2 of 1985);] (p) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (q) "rolling stock" includes locomotives, engines, carriages (whether powered or not), wagons,trollies and vehicles of all kinds moving or intended to move on rails; (r) "to erect", in relation to any building, includes-- (i) any material alteration or enlargement of such building, (ii) conversion, by structural alteration, into a place for human habitation of such building notoriginally constructed for human habitation, (iii) conversion into more than one place for human habitation of such building originallyconstructed as one such place, (iv) conversion of two or more places of human habitation in such building into a greaternumber of such places, (v) such alteration of such building as would alter the drainage or sanitary arrangementstherein or would materially affect its security, and (vi) the addition of any rooms in such building. (2) All other words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Indian RailwaysAct, 1890 (9 of 1890), shall have the meanings, respectively, assigned to them in that Act.

The Central Government may, for the purposes of this Act, appoint a GeneralManager for every metro railway.

(1) The Central Government may constitute an AdvisoryBoard, for every metro railway for the purpose of assisting or advising that Government on-- (a) the formulation and co-ordination of plans for the development of metro railway and itsexpansion; (b) the financing and execution of any project for the construction of the metro railway; (c) such other matters as may be referred to it for carrying out the purposes of this Act and inparticular for the purpose of ensuring that the functions of the metro railway administration areexercised with due regard to the circumstances or conditions prevailing in, and requirements of, the1[metropolitan city, metropolitan area and the National Capital Region]. (2) The Advisory Board shall consist of such number of members (being officers of the Government)not exceeding nine as may be appointed to it by the Central Government. (3) The Central Government shall appoint one of the members of the Advisory Board as itsChairman. (4) The Central Government shall publish in the Official Gazette the names of all the members of theAdvisory Board and the Chairman thereof. (5) The Advisory Board shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such procedure inregard to the transaction of its business as may be prescribed. (6) The members of the Advisory Board shall hold office for such term as may be prescribed.

(1) The Advisory Board may constitute as many committees as it deems necessaryconsisting wholly of members of such Board or wholly of other persons or partly of members of theBoard and partly of other persons for such purposes as it may think fit. (2) Every committee constituted under sub-section (1) shall meet at such times and places and shallobserve such procedure in regard to the transaction of its business as may be prescribed. (3) There shall be paid to the members of the committee who are not members of the Advisory Board,such fees and allowances for attendance at the meetings of the committee and such travelling allowancesas may be prescribed.