Chilkalguda rail land stuck in slow lane

T P Venu I hyderabad

A major land monetisation plan of the South Central Railway (SCR) at Chilkalguda in Secunderabad, conceived several years ago to generate revenue from prime railway land, has made little visible progress on the ground, raising questions over the prolonged delay in taking the project forward.

The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), the railway’s land monetisation arm, had proposed development of about 16.67 acres at Chilkalguda and the adjoining Rifle Range railway colonies. The plan envisaged commercial development of around 11.98 acres and redevelopment of the existing railway colony spread over another 4.69 acres, under a 99-year lease. The proposal dates back to 2020, when RLDA invited bids for the project. After a competitive bidding process, the successful bidder was issued a Letter of Acceptance on June 22, 2021, for a lease premium of about Rs 66.70 crore. A special purpose company was subsequently formed to execute the project.

The lease was executed in September 2021 and the site was reportedly handed over in May 2022. Yet, the expected transformation of the railway land did not follow immediately. According to sources, the project received building approval in July 2025 and covers about 43,836 sq metres (10.83 acres), with a proposed built-up area of nearly 1.47 lakh sq metres. Its proposed completion date is July 2030.

However, the project’s regulatory filing recorded zero construction progress at the time of registration, indicating that substantial development was yet to begin. Publicly available project information also does not show significant construction progress subsequently. The prolonged timeline has led to questions over why a project for monetising valuable railway land took years to move from tendering and lease award to regulatory approval and construction.

The Chilkalguda parcel is strategically located in the rapidly developing Secunderabad urban area. For the Railways, monetisation of such surplus or redevelopment-linked land is intended to unlock value without selling the asset outright. But delays defeat the purpose of the exercise by keeping valuable land underutilised while postponing the expected revenue and redevelopment benefits.

With the original bidding process dating back to 2020, the Chilkalguda project has now entered its seventh year of development plans, with the promised transformation still some distance away.

Secunderbad Station works gather pace

The Secunderabad railway station, being upgraded under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, has reached 78 per cent completion and is expected to be inaugurated in April next year. Railway authorities explained that vertical mobility at the station would include 26 lifts, 32 escalators.

The historic station is being transformed into an airport-style transit terminal with separate arrival and departure blocks, a two-level air concourse, skywalks linking to metro stations, dedicated zones for passengers, and green energy facilities including solar power, EV charging, sewage treatment and rainwater harvesting.