3 Bihar Railway Stations Among 57 Identified For Redevelopment

Three Bihar railway stations have been identified among 57 across the country for redevelopment, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The Indian Railways has identified 57 stations across the country for redevelopment under ‘Major Upgradation of Railway Stations’, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. 

The Union Ministry of Railways is currently undertaking techno-economic feasibility studies for the redevelopment of stations, based on the outcome of which stations, especially those located in major cities and popular tourist destinations, will be taken up for redevelopment in phases, the ministry said in a statement Friday. 

The 57 stations include Gaya, Bapudham Motihari and Muzaffarpur in Bihar. According to the ministry, redevelopment work has been taken up at 43 stations, while 21 stations are at different stages of tendering and planning. Three stations — Rani Kamlapati in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhinagar in Gujarat and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal in Karnataka — have already been developed and commissioned.

Minister Vaishnaw told Rajya Sabha that modernisation and upgrade of railway stations and amenities is a continuous process and the work is carried out through the “Plan-Head Customer Amenities”. Sharing the allocation and expenditure since 2019-20 under the plan head, maintained zone wise, the ministry said in the statement that Rs 2,700 crore was allocated for all 17 zones for the current fiscal and Rs 986.92 crore was spent until October. 

In 2019-20, the allocation was Rs 1881.40 crore and expenditure was Rs 1,903.11 crore. The corresponding allocation figures for 2020-21 and 2021-22 were Rs 2,615.15 crore and Rs 1,995.77 crore, respectively, while the expenditure figures were Rs 2,582.90 crore and Rs 2,344.55 crore, respectively, the ministry said.

535 Stations Covered With 572 One Station, One Product Outlets

In a written reply to another question in the Rajya Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said his ministry has launched ‘One Station One Product (OSOP)’ scheme to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the Government of India, which aims to “provide a market for local and indigenous products and create additional income opportunities for the marginalised sections of society”. 

The pilot of the scheme was started in March this year and there are currently 572 OSOP outlets across 535 railway stations, the ministry said in a separate statement. 

The OSOP outlets at railway stations are allotted to eligible applicants on a rotation basis to showcase, sell and give high visibility to indigenous/local products under categories that include handicrafts/artifacts, traditional garments, textiles and handlooms, and local agricultural produce/processed/semi-processed foods.