New Delhi: In view of the expected increase in the number of railway passengers by 2038, an expert panel of the environment ministry has cleared the terms of reference (ToR) for redevelopment of Anand Vihar railway station.
The panel also cleared ToR for development of Bijwasan railway station in Delhi.
The total load of passengers, guests in hotel and staff per day is expected to be 164,838 for the year 2038, according to railway authorities.
ToRs are guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies of projects, based on which the expert panel recommends or rejects environment clearances to a project.
The station redevelopment project is an ambitious project of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under which it plans to make Indian railway stations more attractive and passenger-friendly by introducing several amenities like escalators, lifts and shopping complexes.
The project was considered by the Union environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for infrastructure projects during its latest meeting on 1 May.
During the meeting, the EAC was told that the redevelopment of Anand Vihar railway station by Indian Railway Station Development Corp. Ltd is “part of the continuous process of augmenting and improving amenities keeping in view the world class planning and targeting the year 2038”.
As per the minutes of the EAC’s meeting, which were reviewed by Mint , the project envisages redevelopment of Anand Vihar railway station with construction/redevelopment of the main station building and introduction of facilities like hotel, station, retail and commercial office.
There will be provision for basement parking, while the garden and lawns will also be developed.
The EAC deliberated upon the proposal and noted that there is no land acquisition or litigation involved and recommended the project for grant of ToR for preparation of EIA-EMP (Environmental Management Plan) report.
In the EIA-EMP report, EAC sought details of treated sewage disposal and its impact, action plan to prevent pollution from discharge of surface runoff into water bodies, details of arrangement for meeting standby power from solar energy and solid waste management plan.
Also as the project area regularly witnesses huge traffic jams, the committee stated that a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) shall be carried out to assess the impact of proposed redevelopment of the railway station in terms of impact on traffic intensities, road capacities, intersection capacities and related delays on the bounding network of the terminal complex.
It said that the TIA “shall also indicate the impact of proposed redevelopment on the level of service of the primary road network falling in the immediate catchment area of the terminal complex within an area of at least 5 sq km”.
“The TIA shall be followed by preparation of detailed Traffic Management Plan (TMP) detailing various implementable measures for traffic impact mitigation to be submitted along with the EIA. The impact assessment for noise and vibration shall be done at peak values,” EAC added.
The expert panel also cleared ToR for projects related to the development of Delhi’s Bijwasan railway station. The proposed project is in accordance with the Delhi Master Development Plan 2021.
The Northern Railway, under whose zone the projects falls, informed the committee that from 4,000 passengers per day using Bijwasan station at present the number could reach 135,000 passengers in the next 40 years.