The cash-strapped Indian Railways, that has proposed an ambitious Rs.8.56 lakh crore investment plan for the next five years, is working on a blueprint to monetise its vast land holdings, the government said.
The Railways owns about 4.62 lakh hectares of land across the country, of which nearly 4.15 lakh of those hectares are utilised for its operations. The Indian Railways has digitised most of its land records, said Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha, in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The vacant land of about 46,333 hectares, some of which is not required by Railways for its immediate operational needs, is utilized in the interim period for commercial development through Rail Land Development Authority wherever feasible, in order to mobilise additional financial resources.
“Indian Railways have also digitised details of vacant plots of land measuring more than one acre to chalk out the blue print for monetisation of its vacant land,” Mr. Sinha said.
