The Indian Railways is considering allotting 90 Railway stations to private companies. According to a Hindustan Times report, Railways is exploring several options – including looking at the arrangements at India’s privately-run airports – to determine how best to set up the security infrastructure at these.
The Railway Board, in a letter reviewed by HT, sought the opinion from all principal chief security commissioners of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and all zonal railways on how the security infrastructure for the 90 stations should be set up.
“The airport operators not only provide and maintain the security infrastructure and equipment at the airports, but also pay for the salary and wages of the CISF personnel deployed there. Therefore, the complete cost of providing security at the airport is borne by the airport operators Therefore, the Security Directorate has to take a view on how the security infrastructure, equipment, etc will be provided and maintained at a station under SFM. We may also examine if the airport model may be replicated or otherwise,” it added.
According to the letter, a committee examining these details has suggested that security and access control services (barring maintenance of assets that enable them), should be kept out of the agreement with the private companies. SFM refers to the Station Facility Management that will come up following the agreement.
Railway Board has sought input by March 15
The letter enumerated two more options that may be considered by the Security Directorate: In one of them, the SFM bears “the responsibility of provision and maintenance of security infrastructure and equipment along with the cost of manpower including (RPF 50% Government Railway Police)”.
In the other option, it noted that this responsibility may be borne by the Railways instead.
The railway board has sought these inputs by March 15.
“Approaches to the provision of security services in infrastructure have always been a contentious issue. Initially, under the airport model (Delhi and Mumbai Operation, Management and Development Agreements) the provision of security services was retained with the state, however later models provide for security infrastructure to be maintained by private parties as well,” said Deepto Roy, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
