Lok Sabha Question No. 98 (STARRED), answered on 2023-07-26
Subject: Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Suresh Kodikunnil, Rajmohan Unnithan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 98 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26.07.2023

## AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME

*98. SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH: SHRI RAJMOHAN UNNITHAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Railways  is  planning  to  modernize  1000  small  yet important  stations  across  the  country  under  the  new  'Amrit  Bharat Station Scheme' and if so, the details thereof, State - wise;

(b) whether Changanassery, Chengannur, Nileswaram and Kanhangadu in Kerala and Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh have also been included under this scheme;

(c) if so, the number of railway stations in Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha that are included  /proposed to be included under this scheme;

(d) total budget earmarked/ allocation made for each of these stations;

(e)  whether  the  Detailed  Project  Report  has  been  approved  by  the Competent Authorities and if so, the details thereof;

(f) whether there is any provision of promoting local artisans under the one  station  one  product  initiative  and  if  so,  the  State-wise  details thereof; and

(g)  the  time  by  which  the  scheme  is  likely  to  be  implemented  along with the criteria for selection of railway stations under this scheme?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (g)  OF STARRED QUESTION NO.98 BY SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH AND SHRI RAJMOHAN  UNNITHAN  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 26.07.2023 REGARDING AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME

(a)  to  (g)  The  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  has  recently  been launched 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.

Under the Scheme,  1309  stations have been identified for upgradation/modernisation  over  Indian  Railways  as  per  below table:

| S. NO       | STATE                 |   NO. OF STATIONS |
|-------------|-----------------------|-------------------|
| 1           | Andhra Pradesh        |                72 |
| 2           | Arunachal Pradesh     |                 1 |
| 3           | Assam                 |                50 |
| 4           | Bihar                 |                92 |
| 5           | Chattisgarh           |                32 |
| 6           | Delhi                 |                13 |
| 7           | Goa                   |                 3 |
| 8           | Gujarat               |                87 |
| 9           | Haryana               |                34 |
| 10 Himachal | Pradesh               |                 4 |
| 11          | Jharkhand             |                57 |
| 12          | Karnataka             |                56 |
| 13          | Kerala                |                35 |
| 14          | Madhya Pradesh        |                80 |
| 15          | Maharashtra           |               126 |
| 16          | Manipur               |                 1 |
| 17          | Meghalaya             |                 1 |
| 18          | Mizoram               |                 1 |
| 19          | Nagaland              |                 1 |
| 20          | Odisha                |                57 |
| 21          | Punjab                |                30 |
| 22          | Rajasthan             |                83 |
| 23          | Sikkim                |                 1 |
| 24          | Tamil Nadu            |                75 |
| 25          | Telangana             |                40 |
| 26          | Tripura               |                 4 |
| 27          | UT of Chandigarh      |                 1 |
| 28          | UT of Jammu & Kashmir |                 4 |
| 29          | UT of Puducherry      |                 3 |
| 30          | Uttar Pradesh         |               156 |

|   31 | Uttarakhand   |   11 |
|------|---------------|------|
|   32 | West Bengal   |   98 |

Changanassery  and  Chengannur  stations  in  the  State  of  Kerala and Nizamabad station in the State of Telangana are included in this scheme.

The  details  of  allocation  for  development  and  maintenance  of stations including for Amrit Bharat Station Scheme are maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  under  Plan  Head-53  'Customer Amenities'  and  not  station-wise  or  state-wise.  The  details  of funds allocated under Plan Head-53 'Customer Amenities', for the current financial year i.e. 2023-24 is as under:-

(Fig. in ₹ crore)

|   S.No. | Zonal Railway      |   Amount |
|---------|--------------------|----------|
|       1 | Central            |   937.75 |
|       2 | Eastern            |   378.52 |
|       3 | East Central       |   781.52 |
|       4 | East Coast         |   699.66 |
|       5 | Northern           |  2799.53 |
|       6 | North Central      |   930.4  |
|       7 | North Eastern      |   273.5  |
|       8 | Northeast Frontier |   400.91 |
|       9 | North Western      |   858.75 |
|      10 | Southern           |  1242.58 |

| 11.   | South Central      |   961.86 |
|-------|--------------------|----------|
| 12.   | South Eastern      |   480.4  |
| 13.   | South East Central |   183.11 |
| 14.   | South Western      |   468.21 |
| 15.   | Western            |  1540.83 |
| 16.   | West Central       |   401.41 |
| 17.   | Metro              |    16.06 |
|       | TOTAL              | 13355    |

So far detailed project reports/detailed estimates for 1117 stations have been sanctioned.

Indian Railways have launched 'One Station One Product' (OSOP) scheme with the objective to provide enhanced livelihood opportunities for local artisans, potters, weavers/handloom weavers, craftsmen etc. Under this scheme, Indian Railways are providing  fixed  stalls/kiosks,  portable  stalls/trolleys  at  railway stations  for  showcasing,  selling  and  giving  high  visibility  to indigenous/local products of the area.

The  products  category  is  indigenous/Geographical  Indications (GI)  tagged/local  to  that  place  and  could  include  artefacts, handicrafts, textiles and handlooms,  toys, leather products, traditional appliances/ instruments, garments, gems and jewellery, etc made by local artisans, weavers, craftsmen, tribes, etc  and  processed,  semi  processed  and  other  food  products indigenously made/grown in the area. Some of the products under OSOP  scheme  include  Warli  Painting,  Gir  Wild  honey,  Bhagaia (Godda) silk, Ilkal sarees, Pattachitra & Pipli Applique, Sambalpuri  sarees,  Pochampally  sarees,  Tant  handloom  sarees, Ragi biscuit.

Pilot  project  of  this  scheme  was  launched  on  25.03.2022.  On completion of pilot phases, instructions were issued on 02.03.2023  to  proliferate  the  scheme  on  a  full  scale  basis  to expand  the  number  of  OSOP  outlets  and  number  of  stations covered.

As  on  30.06.2023,  OSOP  scheme  has  been  implemented  on  754 stations with 824 operational outlets. Identification of the stations  under  this  scheme  is  done  at  the  Divisional  level  with the approval of Divisional Railway Manager (DRM).

Stations have been selected under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme based  on  proposals  received from Zonal Railways, stations located in major cities and towns. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations. Further, redevelopment of stations is  complex  in  nature  involving  safety of passengers and trains and requires various statutory clearances from urban/local bodies etc. and these factors affect the  completion  time.  Therefore,  no  time-frame  can  be  indicated at this stage.