RLDA invites bids for leasing Howrah Salt Golah land in West Bengal

Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has invited bids for leasing the historically significant vacant railway land-Salt Golah in Howrah in West Bengal. Spanning across an area of 88,300 square metre, the site is located on a 20-metre-wide highway along the Hooghly riverbank and is only 1.5 Km from Howrah Station.

The place holds prominence in the history of Indian freedom struggle as it was the salt commissioner of this ‘Salt Golah’ who had barred the Indians from collecting or selling salt under the Salt Act 1882.

The place is well connected through road and river transport. The built-up area (BUA) offered is 2,64,900 sqm. with a permissible FSI (floor space index) of 3.0. The land parcel is proposed to be leased out for 99 years with a reserve price of Rs 448 crore. The pre-bid meeting was held on 7th July 2021 and a good response from national and local developers was received during the pre-bid meeting. The deadline for bid submission is August 29, 2021.

The site is surrounded by Golabari Ghat and Ratnakar School in the North, Signal Workshop & Railway Printing Press of Eastern Railway in the South, River Hooghly in the East and Salkia School Road in the West.

“Howrah is a vibrant commercial hub of West Bengal. The railway land parcel at Salt Golah, Howrah, can be used for residential cum commercial development. Water sports facilities can also be developed here. It will not only put the land to better use but also boost real estate and lead to socio-economic development in the region, creating a lot of employment opportunities,” said Mr Ved Parkash Dudeja, vice chairman, RLDA.

The lessee will be given controlled and regulated marketing rights and will be mandated to develop the site within ten years.

The site is located in the city of Howrah that lies on the western bank of River Hooghly. Howrah is an important transportation hub of West Bengal and a gateway to Kolkata. Often referred to as Sheffield of the East, Howrah is home to several light engineering industries. The city is also famous for salt godowns. It is accessible via rail, river, air and road network.

Rail Land Development Authority is a statutory authority under the ministry of railways for the development of railway land. It has four key mandates as a part of its development plan, namely leasing commercial sites, colony redevelopment, station redevelopment and multi-functional complexes.

Indian Railways has approximately 43,000 hectares of vacant land across India. RLDA is currently handling 84 railway colony redevelopment projects and has recently leased out 3 railway colonies in Guwahati and Secunderabad for redevelopment. RLDA has over 100 commercial (greenfield) sites across India for leasing, and the eligible developers for each will be selected through an open and transparent bid process.

RLDA is also currently handling 60 stations in a phased manner while its subsidiary, IRSDC, has taken up another 62 stations. In the first phase, RLDA has prioritised prominent stations like New Delhi, Tirupati, Dehradun, Nellore, Cuttack, Puducherry, Lucknow, Ernakulam and Puri for redevelopment. The railway stations across India will be redeveloped as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the Government of India.