Railway Board shuts down IRSDC

In continuation with its efforts to rightsize the Railways, the Railway Board has issued an order closing down the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) that was set up for the redevelopment of stations across the country.

This is the second organisation under the Railway Ministry to be shut down after the closure of the Indian Railways Organisation for Alternative Fuel (IROAF) on September 7, 2021.

The step is a move to accept the recommendation of the Finance Ministry, which in a report has recommended rationalisation of government bodies either by closing them down or through merging multiple organisations under different ministries.

The order issued by the Railway Board late on Monday said the stations managed by the IRSDC will now be handed over to the respective zonal railways and the corporation will pass on all project related documents to them for further development.

Among several other projects, IRSDC, which was set up in March 2012, was involved in the bidding process for the redevelopment of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai.

The IRSDC recently invited bids for setting up of "Rail Arcade" at Chandigarh and KSR Bengaluru Railway Stations. It had also announced plans to undertake facility management of 90 railway stations across South India.

The report prepared by Principal Economic Advisor, Sanjeev Sanyal, has also recommended the merger of the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which implements projects relating to creation and augmentation of railway infrastructure, with the Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON), a specialised infrastructure construction organisation.

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