Indian Railways’ land monetization continues; bids invited for leasing land parcels

The Indian Railways is seeking ways to monetize its land parcels and will conduct pre-bid meetings through video conferencing amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a firm under the administration of the Railway Ministry, has invited bids for leasing several land parcels owned by Indian Railways. It is also conducting online pre-bid meetings, inviting prospective bidders for the same.

An RLDA spokesperson told The Federal that in the initial phase, pre-bid meetings are likely to be conducted for two requests for quotation (RFQ’S) for redeveloping the Tirupati railway station and the Dehradun railway station.

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Due to the restriction of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, RLDA is conducting digital meetings with its stakeholders and bidders. The redevelopment program of various railway stations across the country have been taken up by the Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC).

The Habibganj and Gnadhinagar stations will be redeveloped into airport-like world class stations by IRSDC in the initial phase. The redeveloped stations will boast of passenger-friendly facilities such as separate entry and exit points, dedicated concourse and circulating area, multi modal integration with metro stations, environment-friendly station buildings and more.

RLDA is a statutory agency under the Railway Ministry and is responsible for the development of vacant land owned by Indian Railways. RLDA works for leasing the land parcels for commercial utilization.

The objective of this exercise is to generate revenue through non-tariff measures. At present, Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across the country.