Railways plan to monetise vacant lands

Hyderabad: The Ministry of Railways has planned to leverage commercial development of vacant lands and air space in and around railway stations. Apart from redevelopment of railway stations, large land parcels near railway quarters and loco sheds will soon be opened for commercial development.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has been mandated for commercial development of vacant railway lands. As part of redevelopment the Chilkalguda and Rifle Range railway colonies would be developed in a total area of 23.80 acres. According to RLDA senior officials, the lease term would be between 45-99 years on upfront premium model.

Tenders for engagement of consultants to provide services for urban design, master plans, comprehensive architectural planning and designs of buildings have been called for. Similarly, vacant lands close to the Moula Ali flyover too would be developed. The site is one km away from Moula Ali railway station. Abhilesh Babel of Feedback Infra Pvt Ltd, the consultants for the Moula Ali project was tightlipped, but informed that the site has great potential for commercial use. People in the know of things say that the monetisation of land is being looked at by building commercial complexes, warehouses and sports complexes.

At Mettuguda, next to the railway quarters and close to the metro rail station is Millennium Park, spread over 2.30 acres, is up for a 99-year lease. Besides several land parcels in the twin cities, mostly located in Secunderabad, proposals for commercial development of vacant lands at Sanjeevaiah Park MMTS station, Necklace Road, Khairatabad and Lakdi-ka-Pul have been submitted.

RLDA plans to develop multifunctional complexes (MFCs) that would include shopping, food stalls, restaurants, book stalls, PCO booths, ATMs, medical stores and amenities for rail users at railway stations. Efforts to utilise open spaces and air space at Secunderabad Railway station did not materialise in the past due to lukewarm response from bidders.