Rail Land Development Authority invites bids for leasing 7,500 sq metres land parcel at Asansol for commercial development

Asansol (West Bengal)/ New Delhi [India], October 6 : For the implementation of the station development plan, the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids for leasing vacant land parcels at Asansol of West Bengal for commercial development.
The site spans across 7,500 sq metres and falls under the Eastern Railway Zone.
According to an official press release, the land is strategically located at station road opposite the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) office, near the bus stand and the railway station. The reserve price is fixed at Rs 7.6 crores for the land parcel to be leased out for 45 years.
It further said that the pre-bid meeting was held on September 10 this year and there was a good response from local and national developers. The deadline for bid submission is October 27, 2021.
The site is bounded by vacant land in the North, railway establishments in the East and the 12m wide Station Road in the West. Key landmarks such as Asansol Municipal Building, Pathak Bari and Divisional Railway Hospital lie within a 1 Km radius, the official statement added.
Giving information about this development plan, RLDA Vice-Chairman, Ved Parkash Dudeja said that Asansol is a prominent industrial hub under the Eastern Railway Zone, one of the highest revenue generators for Indian Railways.
"The site is located on station road and is well-connected to prominent transit landmarks such as railway stations and bus stands. The proposed development will boost retail and commercial development, generate employment and usher in a socio-economic transformation of the region," he added.
Dudeja also informed that the concessionaire will be mandated to carry out development as per local bye-laws and obtain necessary statutory clearances from local development authorities. The site is categorised as traffic and transportation under Land Use and Development Control Plan 2025.
It is well-known fact that Asansol is the second largest and most populous city of West Bengal. The Indian Railways were among the first employers in the city. Asansol is a prominent industrial hub and a home to steel, coal and power industries.
Notably, Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India. RLDA is currently handling 84 railway colony redevelopment projects and has recently leased out three railway colonies in Guwahati and Secunderabad for redevelopment.
It has over 100 commercial (greenfield) sites across India for leasing, and the eligible developers for each will be selected through an open and transparent bidding process.
At present, RLDA is working on 112 Railway stations in a phased manner. In the first phase, RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, Cuttack, Lucknow and Puducherry for redevelopment.
Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) is a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways for the development of Railway land. It has four key mandates as a part of its development plan, namely leasing commercial sites, colony redevelopment, station redevelopment and multi-functional complexes.