Lok Sabha Question No. 66 (STARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: Rail Land Development Authority
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: K. Muraleedharan, Deepak Baij

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 66 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2024

## RAIL LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

* 66.  SHRI K. MURALEEDHARAN: SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the details of current status of 103 identified railway stations under the railway  station  redevelopment  projects  undertaken  by  the  Rail  Land Development Authority (RLDA);
- (b)  the  phased  approach  that  the  Government  has  devised  to  prioritise station redevelopment based on factors like passenger footfall, connectivity and  strategic  importance  as  per  the  recommendations  of  the  Standing Committee;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  made  any  progress  in  establishing  a streamlined approval process for fast tracking permissions and clearances for commercial development on railway land;
- (d)  if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  steps  that  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  define  and designate specific areas for commercial development within existing land use regulations?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 66 BY SHRI K. MURALEEDHARAN AND SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 07.02.2024 REGARDING RAIL LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.

(a) to (e):  Ministry of Railways has launched 'Amrit Bharat Station scheme' for  development  of  Stations  on  Indian  Railways.  This  scheme  envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term approach.

The scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in  phases  to  improve  the  amenities  at  the  stations  like  improvement  of station  access,  circulating  areas,  waiting  halls,  toilets,  lift/escalators  as necessary,  cleanliness,  free  Wi-Fi,  kiosks  for  local  products  through schemes  like  'One  Station  One  Product',  better  passenger  information systems,  executive  lounges,  nominated  spaces  for  business  meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station. The Master  Planning  process  involves  designation  of  areas  for  commercial development.

The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks, 'Roof Plazas' as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.

So  far,  1318  number  of  stations  have  been  identified  for  redevelopment under this scheme over Indian Railways including 16 stations entrusted to Rail Land Development Authority for execution.

Statutory  approvals  for  projects  are  processed  as  per  the  laid  down processes and monitored at various levels for expeditious disposal.

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Further,  development / redevelopment / upgradation  of  Railway  Stations  is complex  in  nature  involving  safety  of  passengers  &  trains  and  requires various statutory clearances such as fire clearance, heritage, tree cutting, airport clearance etc. The progress also gets affected due to brown field related  challenges  such  as  shifting  of  utilities,  (involving  water/sewage lines,  optical  fiber  cables,  gas  pipe  lines,  power/signal  cables  etc.,) infringements, operation of trains without hindering passenger movement, speed  restrictions  due  to  works  carried  out  in  close  proximity  of  high voltage power lines etc . and these factors affect the completion time . Therefore, no time frame can be indicated at this stage .

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