Railway plans to earn Rs. 8k cr via commercial development

The Dollar Business Bureau 

With an aim to increase its revenues, the Indian Railways has formulated plans to make Rs.8000 crores via commercial development of railway land across the country.

There are several areas near railway stations, colonies and workshops, which are lying idle and according to the plan, these unused sites would be developed commercially, said a senior official from the Railway Ministry.

In order to commercially utilise these sites, Indian Railways has created a Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA).

Presently, RLDA has been entrusted with 49 sites, that measures 497.21 hectares, for commercial development, the official informed.

He further said the extent of revenue expected to be generated from these sites will be around Rs.7000 to 8000 crore.

In addition to these 49 sites, there are more sites that have been identified by the Railways for commercial usage but subject to the sites’ amenability for commercial development.

The developers have been selected by RLDA through a transparent and competitive bidding process. Currently, a developer has been selected for just one site, Vishakhapatnam, which will generate a revenue of Rs.12.10 crore for a 30-year lease period.

There is no plan by the Railways yet with regard to the provision of hotel facilities and hospitals near all the major and busy railway stations. But in those places where it is feasible and based on demand, multi-functional centers will be built which could also have hotel facilities.

Apart from this, the Railways will also redevelop some stations by utilising the commercial development of railway land and air space and for that it has identified 28 major stations.