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28 rly stations in AP, TS to be modernised
28 rly stations in AP, TS to be modernised The Cabinet cleared the redevelopment of 400 railway stations across the country on as is where is basis Twenty eight of the 400 stations come under South Central Railway SCR which amounts to seven per cent
Hyderabad: The Cabinet cleared the redevelopment of 400 railway stations across the country on ‘as is where is’ basis. Twenty eight of the 400 stations come under South Central Railway (SCR) which amounts to seven per cent. The redevelopment of the identified stations would be undertaken by the Indian Stations Development Corporation Ltd (IRSDC).
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In all, 36 stations for redevelopment come under the SCR jurisdiction out of which 28 fall in Telangana and AP. Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Kacheguda, Vijayawada and Tirupati are the stations that have got the nod under the A-1 category. In all, 75 stations under the category would be modernised.
The non-suburban railway stations with an annual turnover of more than Rs 50 crore fall under A-1 category. In A category (non-suburban railway stations with annual revenue of Rs 6 crore to Rs 50 crore) the Cabinet approved 330 railway stations for redevelopment, out of which 23 are in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Six railway stations namely; Kazipet, Khammam, Kurnool, Mancherial, Nizamabad and Warangal in Telangana state and 17 railway stations in Andhra Pradesh would be redeveloped. Among the prominent railway stations in the A category in Andhra Pradesh that would get a face-lift are Guntur, Kakinada, Nellore, Ongole, Rajamundry, Tenali, Anantapur and Cuddapah among others.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that there had been no investment in the railways in the last 20-25 years and there will be an investment of $120 billion in the next five years. Swiss Challenge: The stations would be developed under the Swiss challenge method, which is different from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Here, third parties bid would also be invited to the existing bids.
It allows the third parties to make better offers and it is left to the government to either purchase the intellectual property rights for a concept or award the project through a competitive bidding process in which no bidder has a predefined advantage.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that this method would encourage innovative ideas at no extra cost to the railways. Commercial development of real estate, development of land and air space in and around the stations is envisaged in the scheme.
By T P Venu
