Short Note on Grow More Food Scheme

GROW MORE FOOD SCHEME:- 

Under this scheme, the licensing of surplus railway land to railway employees is permitted in all type of railway land whether in urban or non urban areas for group C & D railway staff only. Preference should be given to gatemen, gang men and staff belonging to SC/ST/OBC category and those belonging to the economically weaker section of the society. This policy of licensing of surplus railway land shall be governed by the following stipulations/guidelines:-

a) Railway may identify the surplus land in urban as well as in non-urban areas which can be given for the purpose of cultivation of crops.

b) Size of the plot to be licensed under this scheme would be generally not more than 1 hectare. However, where large plots of land are available and demand from the employees is not much, licensing of plots up to 2 hectares can also be considered on specific request.

c) Railway land may be licensed to serving permanent railway employees in group C & D categories only. Preference should be given to gatemen, Gang men, staff belonging to SC/ST/OBC category and those belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society. 

d) No licensing shall be allowed to employees who have less than 5 years of service left and licensed land must be taken back at least 1 year before the due date of retirement of the employee. 

e) An entry should be made in the service record of the employee to the effect that employee is in occupation of railway land for cultivation purpose and NOC from engineering deptt would be obligatory before payment of settlement dues in case of retirement/ leaving railway services for any reason whatsoever. 

f) In each case of license, proper agreement must be executed between the railway administration and the licensee before the possession of land. 

g) Initial licensing which shall be for two years, shall be done by the division and

subsequent extensions after recovery of license fee can be done by the ADEN up to total maximum license period 5 years.

h) The license fee has to be fixed based on the revenue generating potential of land. the license fee should be between 1/4th to 1/3rd of the annual revenue expected to be earned by the employee and should be decided by the DRM with the concurrence of the Sr DFM/DFM. However the license fees shall not, in any case, be less than Rs. 1.0 per square meter per annum. License fee may be revised by DRM in consultation with Sr.DFM/DFM every year before commencement of the crop year.

i) License fee for a year should be recovered in full in advance along with a security deposit which is equal to one year license fee before licensing or renewal of license is granted to the employee. The security deposit shall be refunded after vacation of railway land by the employee.

j) Any immovable fixture for watering made by the railway employee shall be brought to the notice of ADEN and shall become the property of railways as and when the land is vacated. No permanent structure on such licensed railway land shall be allowed.

k) Each licensee shall erect and maintain the railway boundary pillars/fencing at his own cost.

l) No plot of land shall be licensed for more than 5 years at a stretch to any particular employee so that tenancy rights do not accrue in favor of the licensee.

m) The licensee shall not grow any such crop/plantation which may hinder the visibility or endanger safety of train operations.

n) Details of the plots licensed under this scheme would be maintained by every IOW/ADEN for his/her jurisdiction and also in the divisional H.Q on a computer data base as a "Register for Utilization of vacant Railway land for Grow More Food Purpose" This data should be updated every year and a summarized position advised to H.Q.

o) "Register for Utilization of vacant Railway land for Grow More Food Purpose" to be maintained in the IOW/ADEN's office should clearly indicate the location of the area allotted, the authority letter for the initial license, the approval for extension of license granted and the details of the license fees deposited, The ADEN personally shall ensure that the registers are updated every year.