Monetise Railway Land for Transit-oriented Development: Jones Lang LaSalle

Monetise Railway Land for Transit-oriented Development: Jones Lang LaSalle

The consultant defines transit-oriented development (TOD) as a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximise access to public transport. TOD incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.

The Railways should monetise its land parcels at urban centres to encourage transit-oriented development and improve living standards, realty consultant JLL India said in its wish-list for the rail Budget.

The consultant defines transit-oriented development (TOD) as a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximise access to public transport. TOD incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.

“With the Rail Budget coming up, the sheer number of land parcels held by the Indian Railways across the country makes this entity an important stakeholder in transit-oriented development,” JLL India Chairman and Country Head Anuj Puri said in a report.

“This Budget, we expect the railway minister to look at monetising railways’ land parcels in urban areas through TOD in order to boost cities’ liveability quotient and modernisation of their skylines.”

A TOD neighbourhood typically has a centre with a transit (train/metro) station or stop and residential as well as commercial development around it. TOD interventions aim to significantly shift the mode share away from private motorised vehicles to public transport.

Given the progress of work on infrastructure projects in India, JLL said the TOD plans should be rolled out across cities soon so that the infrastructure is in place by 2020-25.

The urban infrastructure would become a key area of focus for the government as Indian cities would see more migration from rural areas, it added. JLL said Delhi is the first Indian city to move towards the TOD concept.

“TOD is also a priority area for Mumbai and was mentioned in its new development plan (DP) 2034 (currently in a draft format and undergoing several revisions).

Vashi and CBD Belapur were the first TOD projects in Navi Mumbai, with Seawoods following suit in recent years,” the report said. Haryana has recently introduced TOD, which will benefit cities, including Gurgaon.

Source:RailNews