Big plans are there to hand over surplus land for real estate
By Arun Kumar Shrivastav
The practice of growing vegetables on the land along Mumbai railway tracks is on its way out. The railways now plan to use the land for horticulture and beautify the tracks, giving the local commuters an aesthetic feel of the city. It has earmarked 150 acres in 115 locations covering 125 stations for this project. Over time, the railway will do away with vegetable farming being practiced now and redeem the 260 acres to use it for horticulture.
There have been reports of drain and sewage water being used to irrigate vegetable farms along railway tracks, causing serious health risks to consumers. During its heyday, these farms produced green vegetables such as carrots, radishes, spinach and other green leafy vegetables. These vegetable farms are located between Goregaon-Jogeshwari on Western line, Dadar-Parel on Central line, and Panvel on Harbour line. Other areas include Kalyan, Dombivali, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Kurla, Parel, Andheri, Juinagar, Belapur, Nerul, Jogeshwari, Malad, Borivali and Kalwa.
The railway department has been under considerable pressure to discontinue leasing land for farming as vegetables grown here enter the broader Mumbai market and endanger of unsuspecting consumers. In fact, a high court specifically directed the railways to address the grievances in this connection, leading to discontinuation of vegetable farming on lands along some Navi Mumbai railway stations. According to the documents submitted to the court, vegetables grown on these farms were found to have harmful chemicals including cadmium, zinc, chromium, lead, cobalt, and arsenic.
In a ruling, the Bombay High Court ordered the railways to stop using sewage water to grow vegetables on land next to railway tracks in Mumbai. The court took cognizance of reports that vegetables grown here with sewage water were found to contain high levels of heavy metals like zinc, cadmium, lead, cobalt, and chromium, exceeding safe limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This poses health risks to consumers.
The railways in Mumbai give empty lands along rail tracks to its class C and D employees on lease to grow vegetables. By leasing the land for farming, the Railway ensures that the land remains safe from slum encroachers while it is also productively used.
In Mumbai, the railway has leased about 260 acres for farming. Recently, as per newspaper reports, it added another 150 acres to grow flowers along the track. Over time, the railway plans to use all the cultivable land for growing flowers. The railways are reportedly planning to beautify railway route and eliminate drainage water irrigation. It aims to replace vegetable farms with flowering shrubs and ornamental plants and develop green patches.
The Indian railways has 68,426.35 km of line and 132,310 km of tracks out of which 63,456 km is electrified. Railways lease unused land to its employees to cultivate crops under the Grow More Food scheme, initiated in the mid-1960s. The idea is to help the employees generate extra income and discourage encroachment by slums. The rent was increased from Rs 1250 per acre to Rs 4047 per acre per year in 2010. As of now, the government has leased over 8,000 acres to its employees for farming across the country. As of 31 March 2022, Indian railways has 4.86 lakh hectares, making it the largest landowner in the country. Out of this huge land bank, 782 hectares are encroached upon.
To manage its vast land resources and monetize them, Indian railways has constituted the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA). It has identified 43,000 hectares of vacant land that may not be required for operational purposes in the foreseeable future.
In April, news reports claimed that Indian railways plans to lease 342 hectares of prime land for Rs 5000 crore to real estate developers across the country. It includes 110 hectares in Mumbai and 59 hectares in Delhi. Other cities where the railways plan to lease its land are Bengaluru, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Amritsar, Gwalior, Lucknow and Kanpur.
From beautifying railway tracks with flower and decorative plants on the vacant land to leasing out prime real estate for development and commercial use, the railways has many plans for its land resources. However, encroachment of land along the tracks by slums and overall poor standards of hygiene and cleanliness of railway stations remain a big issue. Also, most railway stations have some homeless people living a vagabond life. It would be great if the railways can accommodate them in gainful employment within its system. It will help Indian railway stations shed their shabby look. (IPA Service)
