Pvt developers may develop railway colonies
The issue of funds for railway infrastructure was raised by Shiv Sena MP, Rahul Shewale.
Mumbai: To generate additional revenue for railway infrastructure, the railway colonies of Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) may be developed through private developers. The railway convention committee recently held a meeting with officers of both CR and WR.
The issue of funds for railway infrastructure was raised by Shiv Sena MP, Rahul Shewale. Issues including customer interface, human resources development, manpower planning, and allotment of funds and their utilization were also discussed in the meeting. Railway officers informed members that they were planning to develop railway colonies with the help of private developers, which in turn would give them huge revenue to be used for upcoming projects.
When The Asian Age tried to contact Mr Shewale, his mobile phone was switched off. The cost of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-3 and MUTP-3A is around Rs 65,000 crore.
According to a senior railway officer, the money generated through railway colonies will be used in some component of MUTP-3A. The MUTP-3A includes expansion of existing rail lines, introduction of new rail corridors, procurement of 210 air-conditioned locals and arrangements for their parking, station redevelopment, and improvement of the signaling system using communication-based train control (CBTC).
The railway had already sent a proposal to the state government for a Floor Space Index of five for development on railway land. However, the latter is yet to reply to the railway. Railway colonies are located at Mumbai Central, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Matunga Road, Khar, Bandra, Vile Parle, Santacruz, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Malad, Kan-divali, Borivali, Dahisar, Bhayandar, Naigaon, Vasai Road, Nalasopara and Virar on the WR.
On the Central Railway, railway colonies are located at Badhwar Park, Byculla, Mazgaon, Matunga, Kurla and Mulund among others.