The Railways much-awaited commercial development plan for surplus land is set to begin in the second week of April. Delhi's Sarai Rohilla, one of the 10 sites selected for commercial development in the first phase on public private partnership basis, will go under hammer on April 11. Eight bidders are in the race for the about 25 acres of the prime Railway land in Sarai Rohilla. The reserve price for the bidding is fixed at Rs 675 crore.

Besides the reserve price, the developer has to renovate 750 Railway quarters near the site as part of the development agreement. The highest bidder will develop a group housing complex complete with all modern facilities including shopping complex and health services, said a Railway official.

After Sarai Rohilla, the next bidding will be for Nirala Nagar land in Kanpur, the official said. The 10 sites are located in Delhi, Kanpur, Gwalior, Vizag, Kolkata, and Bangalore. The feasibility study report for commercial development of the 10 sites spread over 265 acres of land has been submitted to the Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA).

Courtesy: - ET, dtd: 21^st March 2008