The Metro Railway (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002, formerly the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, is an Act of the Parliament of India that governs the operations of metro rail systems in India. The law was first promulgated as an Ordinance on 29 October 2002. When it was first enacted in 2002, the Act applied only to the National Capital Territory of Delhi. It was amended in 2009 to permit the Central Government to extend the Act to any metropolitan city or area, after consultation with the concerned State Government. However, the amendment specifically prohibits the Centre from extending the Act to the metropolitan city of Kolkata. Proposal and enactment The Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 was promulgated as an Ordinance titled the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Ordinance, 2002 by then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 29 October 2002. The Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Bill, 2002 (Bill No. 73 of 2002) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 21 November 2002 by then Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar, and was passed by that House on 25 November. The bill was moved in the Rajya Sabha by Ananth Kumar on 2 December 2002. The Bill was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on 12 December. The bill received assent from then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 17 December, and was notified in The Gazette of India on 18 December. It retroactively came into effect from 29 October 2002. Sections The Act grants the Metro Railway Administrator (MRA) four main powers: to acquire, hold and dispose of all kinds of properties owned by it, both movable and immovable to improve, develop or alter any property or asset held by it to develop any Metro railway land for commercial use to execute any lease or grant any licence in respect of the property held by it The Act requires the MRA to seek approval from the Railway Board whenever it rolls out services using a completely newly made train on the track. For example, the rolling stock on the Mumbai Metro required approval from the Railway Board before operations could begin. If the trains used on the metro system had at least the same dimensions as another operational metro in India, the approval would not have been required. Section 6 of the Act gives the Metro Railway Administrator