Govt nod to long-term leasing of railway land

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New Delhi, September 7

The government today approved an ambitious policy for using railway land on a long-term lease under the PM Gati Shakti programme with an aim to develop 300 cargo terminals generating nearly 1.25 lakh jobs.

Announcing the decision of the Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the new policy would help provide land lease for a longer period of up to 35 years as against five years at present.

With an employment generation potential of nearly 1.25 lakh, the policy will also bring in more revenue to the railways with 300 cargo terminals coming up in next five years, the minister said. In a statement later, the government said, “The new policy will enable integrated development of infrastructure and more cargo terminals. It will also cut down land lease fee from 6 per cent to 1.5 per cent.”

The proposed changes would pave the way for privatisation of the Container Corporation of India (Concor) as it would help strategic buyers pay much less amounts as land rentals to railways for a longer period, a senior official said, adding that this was one of the key suggestions put forward by the investment advisers of Concor.