New Delhi, The Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA), which carried out the pre-bidding meeting for the New Delhi, Puducherry and Tirupati railway stations during the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19), is once again all set to conduct the pre-feasibility study on the development and monetization of a mass transit system between Uttar Pradesh's Mathura and Vrindavan.

Situated about 11 km from Mathura, Vrindavan is revered by Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The city is home to numerous temples dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna. Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice Chairman, Railway Land Development Authority, said that Vrindavan is a well-known religious destination and witnesses a high influx of pilgrims every year.

"The proposed transport solution will be instrumental in ushering in commercial development, generation of employment opportunities and boosting the tourism potential of the region. The strategic location along with good connectivity will offer a good return on investment to commercial players," Dudeja said.

A senior RLDA official told IANS, "RLDA will conduct pre-feasibility study on development and monetization of mass transit system between Mathura and Vrindavan which is 12 km long." The RLDA was recently awarded the contract for conducting the pre-feasibility study of the project. The study aligns with the vision of the central government to develop and monetize a mass transit system in meter gauge track between Mathura and Vrindavan.

The official said that the track is not widely used and has a right of way of 20-22 meters. "The objective of the pre-feasibility study is to assess the development and monetization of a Mass Transit System between Mathura and Vrindavan track, this will include but is not limited to identification of land banks available between Mathura and Vrindavan track and monetization potential of operational assets threat," the official added.

He said that the selected consultant, Feedback Infra Pvt Ltd, will be required to conduct a detailed study on traffic analysis, the recommendation of transport solution, monetization of project potential and estimation of the project's financial and economic returns. "The duration of the completion of the pre-feasibility is 40 days. The proposed mass transit solution will comprise a 2/3 lane road along with a bridged metro or light rail or bus transit system that can withstand a high footfall of passengers," the official said, adding that the development would be coupled with appropriate parking zones and commercial establishments like hotels, flea markets and eateries in the region.

During the nationwide lockdown, the RLDA embraced a digital model to ensure seamless operations and said that it was holding pre-bid meetings for leasing various land parcels across the country. The RLDA, which is a statutory body under the Railway Ministry, looks after the development of vacant railway land for commercial use in line with the objective to generate revenue by non-tariff measures.

In the last two months it has invited bids for leasing various land parcels and is conducting pre-bid meetings via video conferencing to sustain the momentum. On April 21, it held pre-bid meetings for railway stations at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, and Dehradun in Uttarakhand. It also held pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of the New Delhi railway station in the month of May in which 30 companies, including foreign and domestic firms participated. Recently it has also held a pre-bid meeting for the re-development of the Puducherry railway station.

The Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India.