Lok Sabha Question No. 1780 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-13
Subject: Encroachment of Railway Land
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Manne Srinivas Reddy, Y. S. Avinash Reddy, Gautham Sigamani Pon

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1780

TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.12.2023

## ENCROACHMENT OF RAILWAY LAND

1780. SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY: SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY: DR. PON GAUTHAM SIGAMANI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  has  decided  to  maximise  the  utility  of  its prime lands abutting railway stations by replacing decades-old sparsely  distributed  buildings  with  multi  storey  structures  as  city centres and master plans are being prepared for station development across the railway network;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  constructions in and  around  such  stations  are presently filled with several decades-old low-height buildings and are sparsely distributed;
- (d) if so, the details of such lands identified and progress made, zonewise, especially in SCR;
- (e) whether in view of the prime location of the station with respect to the  city,  it  provides  an  opportunity  to  go  for  dense  utilisation  and redevelop  the  entire  area  in  such  a  manner  that  the  whole  place becomes much more useful for the citizens and in turn brings value to railways; and
- (f)  if  so,  whether  the  station  also  becomes  the  'City  Centre'  and encroachment of vacant railway lands can be stopped and if so, the details thereof/progress made in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1780 BY SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY, SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY AND DR. PON GAUTHAM SIGAMANI TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 13.12.2023 REGARDING ENCROACHMENT OF RAILWAY LAND

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

It  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 station.

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 ballastless tracks, 'Roof Plazas' as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term  so  that  the  whole  place  becomes  much  more  useful  for  the citizens.

Under the Scheme, 1309 stations across Indian Railways including 119 stations in South Central Railway have been identified for upgradation/modernisation over Indian Railways. Encroachment related  issues  are  handled  on  case  to  case  basis  as  per  the  ground conditions.

*****