The Maharashtra government has approved a plan to commercially develop surplus land owned by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) through public-private partnerships, with lease periods of up to 98 years. The initiative is intended to generate long-term revenue for the cash-strapped state transport undertaking and support improvements to passenger services.
According to an official MSRTC statement reported by Mid-Day, the corporation will permit lease periods of 49 years or up to 98 years under the PPP model. The decision is aimed at making planned commercial use of MSRTC’s land assets rather than relying only on short-term income from them.
Maharashtra Transport Minister and MSRTC Chairman Pratap Sarnaik said a high-level committee headed by him had been formed to oversee the process. He said the corporation’s land holdings were valuable assets and that their development would be used for the organisation’s long-term financial empowerment.
The land covered by the plan falls into several categories. This includes properties acquired through land acquisition, transferred from the erstwhile Road Transport Department, leased to MSRTC or received through gift deeds. The government has not specified the number of sites, their locations or the total area available for development in the information released.
The Maharashtra government has directed that every site be tendered separately. The requirement is intended to create a site-by-site process for selecting private partners and determining the commercial structure of each project. Under the Maharashtra Public-Private Partnership Policy 2026, certain concessions may be considered for projects found to be viable at the final stage of development.
The relevant committee will examine each tender, concession agreement and project structure, the official note said. Final approval for every project’s tender will be required at the Chief Minister’s level. This creates a multi-stage approval process before any individual MSRTC property can move from planning to implementation.
Sarnaik said transparent tendering, proper commercial planning and the PPP model would be used to maximise revenue from the properties. He added that financial independence was necessary to strengthen MSRTC’s passenger services and facilities.
The plan places MSRTC’s land holdings at the centre of an attempt to improve the finances of a public bus corporation through asset development. However, the statement does not yet provide project-wise details on the proposed uses, development timelines, expected revenue, or the passenger facilities that would be funded. Those details are expected to emerge through the separate tendering and approval process for each site.
