The court directed the government to operationalize the Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority by 1 November 2025, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling legislative intent for effective urban transport management.

JUDGMENT :

Nitin Jamdar, C.J.

Six years ago, in 2019, the Kerala State Legislature found it expedient to provide for the constitution of the Metropolitan Transport Authority for the development of urban transport in the Urban Mobility Areas of the State of Kerala. Yet, till date, the Metropolitan Transport Authority for Kochi City remains only on paper. This petition seeks to address this concern.

2. The Kerala Metropolitan Transport Authority Act , 2019 (Act of 2019) was notified on 18 December 2019. Under Section 3 of the Act of 2019, the State Government empowered to establish Metropolitan Transport Authority for each Urban Mobility Area. Section 2 (n), read with Section 11 of the Act of 2019, declares Urban Mobility Area as the Municipal Corporation limits of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode and further provides that any other area can be declared as an Urban Mobility Area.

3. The Transport Authority constituted under Section 3 of the Act of 2019 is a body corporate having perpetual succession, power to enter into contracts and to acquire, hold and dispose of both immovable and movable properties. The composition of the Metropolitan Authority is provided under Section 3 (3) of the Act of 2019. The Authority is headed by the Minister for Transport as the Chairperson. The Secretary to the State Government, Transport Department, is the Vice-Chairperson of the Authority.

4. The composition of the Authority is drawn from diverse fields, including people’s representatives of the Legislative Assembly, Municipal Corporation, Transport Commissioner, District Collectors, representatives of Police, Town Planning and four experts from the fields of Transportation Engineering, Urban Transport Planning, Urban Transport Operations, Corporate Governance, Finance, or Law. The Metropolitan Transport Authority has to meet at least once in three months. The Authority can constitute sub-committees where any expert whose assistance is advised can be referred to such a committee for enquiry. The Metropolitan Transport Authority can also appoint an expert or committee of experts and refer to such committee any subject arising under the Act of 2019. A Chief Executive Officer is appointed for the Authority.

5. Section 12 of the Act of 2019 provides for the duties, functions and powers of the Metropolitan Transport Authority. Under Section 12 (1)(a), the Authority has to prepare a Comprehensive Mobility Plan. Comprehensive Mobility Plan as defined in Section 2 (f) means the plan document as mentioned in Section 13 , that outlines the mobility plan for the Urban Mobility Area and in synchronization with the plan under the Kerala Town and Country Planning Act, 2016 for such Urban Mobility Area and delineates, inter alia, strategies and, actions for achieving the objectives for ensuring optimum mobility of people and transportation of goods in such Urban Mobility Area and to provide for safe, sustainable and efficient and properly co-ordinated urban transport. Such a plan has to be made for a period of five years. The Metropolitan Transport Authority is also vested with various other functions, as listed in Section 12 (1), which include the following:-

“(b) Preparation of a Transport Investment Programme;

(c) Planning for finance mobilization, construction and operation relating to the urban transport and the Urban Transport Ancillary Services;

(d) Promotion, development and regulation of integrated facility and systems tor urban transport including seamless transport access;

(e) Development, construction, operation and management of