CAG Exposes Railways' Land Monetization Failure, ₹4,087 Cr Dues Unrecovered, Safety Concerns

• CAG report highlights Indian Railways' failure to monetize 62,740 hectares of vacant land, with only 1.6% handed to RLDA for commercial use.
• Administrative sluggishness led to only 59 out of 188 land proposals reaching RLDA, and RLDA developed only 8.8% of allocated land.
• RLDA received disputed lands, deterring developers; no commercial development completed as of March 2023, impacting non-fare revenue.
• Railways failed to recover ₹4,087 crore in outstanding dues from 269 private siding owners by March 2023.
• Serious signaling system flaws, particularly in South Western Railway (SWR) with 2,961 annual failures, due to maintenance violations and delays, raising safety concerns.

Why It Matters: CAG report reveals Railways' poor land monetization, unrecovered dues, and critical safety lapses.