Rly Ministry drops plan to monetise stations on PPP mode

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has dropped its proposal for monetisation of stations on public-private partnership mode, and projects are now being taken up under engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, a source said.

The source also said that the Ministry of Railways has been asked to expedite monetisation of other assets, including trains, goodsheds, hill rail, stadiums, railway colonies and railway land parcels among others. “Largest asset class (stations) dropped. Stations earlier proposed on PPP mode are now being taken up under EPC mode,” the source said.

The Ministry has so far raised only Rs 1,829 crore against the target of Rs 30,000 crore in the current financial year, the source added. “Likely realisation from asset monetisation of Indian Railways assets under NMP (National Monetisation Pipeline) in the current fiscal has been now estimated at Rs 4,999 crore,” the source said. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting with Niti Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer on November 14 reviewed the progress of NMP implementation.

An e-mail sent to the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Railways seeking comments remained unanswered.