Indian Railways to allow land monetisation for redevelopment of 16 stations

Reverting its earlier plan, Indian Railways has decided to club real estate monetisation with the redevelopment of 16 stations in India including Anand Vihar in Delhi and Thane, Dadar and Andheri in Mumbai. All 16 stations will be bid out in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in FY2023, according to a report in the Economic Times (ET). 

Earlier, Indian Railways had removed real estate monetisation as a part of station redevelopment. However, on reports of the private sector being unable to recover their investment, the decision is being reversed. 

“The private sector cannot be expected to recover their investment from hiking station usage fees and raising travel costs for passengers,” a senior government official aware of the plan told ET.

Among the stations that will be bid out under the PPP model are Pune, Coimbatore, Bangalore City, Baroda, Bhopal, Chennai Central, Old Delhi, Nizamuddin, Avadi and Vijayawada. The associated real estate development will be offered to the developers. Land monetisation will help private players to get a return on their investment. 

In several stations, the footfall is lesser than that in Delhi and Mumbai. However, the official added that there are "ample opportunities" for land monetisation. 

These will include roof plazas, cafeterias and recreation zones. The use of green techniques and integration with other modes of transportation like the metro, and bus are also essential elements of the redeveloped stations.