Mumbai, July 28 (IANS) The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved a substantial increase in the authorised and paid-up share capital of the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), alongside a series of judicial and governance reforms, including the establishment of specialised courts across the state.
The Cabinet approved raising MRVC’s authorised share capital from Rs 25 crore to Rs 500 crore and increasing its paid-up share capital from Rs 25 crore to Rs 225 crore. The move is aimed at strengthening the corporation’s financial capacity to execute large-scale urban transport projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
MRVC’s equity structure currently comprises a 51 per cent stake held by the Ministry of Railways and a 49 per cent stake held by the Maharashtra government. Incorporated in 1999 with a paid-up capital of Rs 25 crore, the corporation’s capital base has become inadequate in view of the scale and complexity of present-day rail infrastructure projects.
MRVC is responsible for executing large-scale, transformative transit projects under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). MUTP-III & MUTP-3A /3B include line extensions, quadruplication, station upgrades, and Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling systems. Further, projects such as the 3rd and 4th lines between Pune and Lonavala are also proposed. The total ongoing portfolio handled by MRVC is valued at nearly Rs 64,644 crore.
Higher capital enables MRVC to negotiate better terms for multilateral loans (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, World Bank) and manage working capital requirements seamlessly without bottlenecking project timelines.
Further, the Cabinet granted official approval to create the post of Managing Director at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and AgriTech Innovation under the MahaAgri-AI Policy.
The Cabinet also approved the Law and Judiciary Department’s proposals for establishment of multiple specialised and regional courts across the state. It approved setting up a dedicated Special Court in Pune to try cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
It also cleared the establishment of a District and Additional Sessions Court at Karjat (Ahilyanagar district), along with the sanctioning of required judicial and administrative posts and creation of a Civil Court (Junior Division) and Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court at Kurduwadi, Taluka Madha (Solapur district), along with sanctioned posts.
The Cabinet also cleared the establishment of Exclusive Special Courts in Ahilyanagar, Parbhani, Solapur, Nanded, and Yavatmal for the expedited hearing of cases filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Amended Act, 2015).
Moreover, the Cabinet approved the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Maharashtra Gram Panchayat Act, 1959 and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti Act, 1961. The amendment grants an extension of time for elected representatives holding reserved seats to submit their caste validity certificates issued by the Caste Scrutiny Committee.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment to Section 48(7) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. Under the revised provisions, illegal excavation and transportation of minor minerals will now attract a heavy fine equivalent to 10 times the royalty value.
–IANS
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