RLDA eyes Rs. 8,000-cr from realty assets

In its quest to push its revenue earnings to newer highs, Railways has firmed-up plans to generate Rs. 8000-cr through commercial development of rail land across the country. There are huge spaces near railway stations, workshops, colonies, which are lying unused and as per the plan, these sites would be commercially developed, said a senior ministry official, adding that Railways has formed Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) to commercially exploit these sites. Currently, 49 sites measuring 497.21 hectares have been entrusted to RLDA for commercial development. He said that the extent of revenue targeted from these sites will be Rs. 7000 to Rs. 8000cr. Besides these 49 sites, some more sites have also been identified for commercial use, subject to their amenability for commercial development. As of now, the developer for Vishakhapatnam site has been selected with targeted revenue of Rs. 12.10-cr for a lease period of 30 years, he claimed.