Lok Sabha Question No. 5409 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: CAG Report No. 24 of 2025
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh, Adv Gowaal Kagada Padavi, Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5409 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## CAG REPORT NO. 24 OF 2025

5409. DR. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH: ADV GOWAAL KAGADA PADAVI:
2. SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Comptroller and Auditor General of India Report No. 24 of 2025 has flagged outdated, incomplete or non-renewed private siding agreements leading to ambiguity in levy, recovery and enforcement of charges and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the number of such deficient or expired agreements in the Maharashtra railway network including freight-linked sidings in divisions covering Solapur, Nandurbar, Bhandara, Sangli and Dhule, zone and division-wise;
- (c)  whether  Railways  failed  to  revise  agreements  in  accordance  with updated  policies,  traffic  volumes  or  revised  rate  structures  and  if  so, the details and the reasons therefor; and
- (d) the details of the time-bound plan to standardise/renew agreements, fix responsibility  for  lapses  and  recover  arrears  identified  by  audit  with officer-wise accountability?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d) In the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's Report No. 24 of 2025, certain issues related to recovery of  dues  and execution of agreements of private sidings have been highlighted, with recommendation for system improvement in the area.

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Zonal Railways have been advised to take pro-active steps to streamline the  process  of  execution  of  private  siding  agreements  as  per  existing policy guidelines. Corrective measures such as development of an integrated  IT application  for  timely  levy  and  recovery  of  all  due  charges, improving coordination among different departments responsible for timely recovery  of  various  siding-related  charges,  and  strengthening  internal control mechanism etc, are also being taken.

A  time-bound  recovery  plan  is  implemented  to  address  the  outstanding dues identified by audit. This includes enforcing Land License Agreements and raising pending bills within stipulated timelines. As part of this ongoing process, a portion of the outstanding amount has already been recovered and efforts are being made to recover balance dues.

The  Ministry  has  introduced  the  IR-LSPS  portal  to  facilitate  a  more standardized, transparent, and time-bound mechanism for monitoring dues and  tracking  agreement  renewals.  Recovery  of  audit-identified  arrears  is being pursued in accordance with extant rules. The system is intended to support improved monitoring and compliance.

Further, Railway has introduced the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) Policy to streamline and standardize cargo terminal operations. All new private terminals are governed by the GCT framework, under which, execution of an agreement prior to the commencement of operations and before issuance of commercial notification is mandatory. This policy offers key benefits such as simplified approvals, no departmental charges, waiver of land license fees for connectivity, and defined responsibility of Railways

for major infrastructure and common-user facilities, along with incentives like freight rebates.

It also offers existing private sidings to migrate to GCT terminal by signing a  supplementary  agreement.  The  provisions  of  GCT  policy  ensure  clarity and  uniformity  in  contractual  arrangements  and  abate  ambiguity  in  levy and recovery of charges.

So far, 128  GCTs  have  been  commissioned,  and  further  in-principle approvals (IPAs) for 292 more locations have been given.

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