Lok Sabha Question No. 148 (STARRED), answered on 2015-12-09
Subject: Use of Solar Energy in Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB, SANJAY SHAMRAO DHOTRE

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

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 148 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2015

## USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN RAILWAYS

## * 148   SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of solar energy generated/likely to be generated by the Railways  through  the  solar  panels  installed/likely  to  be  installed on Railway land by the year 2020 across the country, zone-wise;
- (b) whether the Government has conducted any study on the revenue earning/loss  on  account  of  using  Railway  land  for  installation  of solar panels instead of using it for commercial purposes, if so, the details and outcome thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the  total  vacant  land  of  the  railways  being  used  for  commercial purposes  along  with  the  revenue  generated  therefrom,  so  far, across the country, zone-wise;
- (d) the total number of commercial projects on railway land completed and revenue generated therefrom so far along with the number  of  such  projects  still  under  construction  and  under litigation; and
- (e) the  remedial  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to expedite  the  construction  of  such  projects  and  to  bring  such projects out of litigation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU)

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  STARRED QUESTION  No.  148  BY  SHRI  BHARTRUHARI  MAHTAB  AND  SHRI  SANJAY DHOTRE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 09.12.2015 REGARDING USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN RAILWAYS

- (a) So far, about 10.5 Mega Watt Peak (MWp) capacity of solar plants have been installed at various railway premises. Out of this a solar plant of 2 MWp is installed on land in Rail Coach Factory, Raebareily.  In addition, a purchase order for installing 6.5 MWp solar power plants on roof top & various railway buildings has been issued. Further, a  policy to harness 50 MWp of solar energy on roof top spaces of Railway premises through developer  mode  has  been  issued  on  18.11.2015.  Indian  Railways  have also proposed to set up 1000 MWp solar plants on railway/private land and roof top spaces of railway buildings in next five years (2020).
- (b) Ministry  of  Railways  have  not  conducted  any  study  on  the  revenue earning/loss  on  account  of  using  Railway  land  for  installation  of  solar panels  instead  of  using  it  for  commercial  purposes  as  both  these activities are not comparable.
- (c)   to  (e)  Presently,  60  sites  measuring  about  590  hectare  have  been entrusted  to  Rail  Land  Development  Authority  (RLDA)  for  commercial development. No site has been developed so far. Out of 60 sites RLDA has  earned 1190  crore  from  commercial  development  of  land  of  3 projects, which are under litigation. Zone-wise earnings from commercial development of land by RLDA from these 3 projects are as under:

|   S.N. | Railway               |   Amount ( in crores) |   Area (in hectare) |
|--------|-----------------------|-----------------------|---------------------|
|      1 | East Central Railway  |                  3.6  |                0.58 |
|      2 | Northern Railway      |               1170.88 |               15.27 |
|      3 | South Western Railway |                 15.41 |                1.01 |

Developer for other sites has not been fixed, however, consultants have been appointed for valuation of 8 sites. To expedite the construction of such  projects  and  to  bring  these  projects  out  of  litigation,  RLDA  is examining  the  development  agreement  conditions  keeping  in  view  the concerns  of  various  stakeholders  and  holding  discussions  with  Urban Local  Bodies  (ULBs)  to  explore  the  feasibility  of  incentivising  ULBs  to expedite change of land use and other activities related to commercial development of Railway land.

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