17 January,2026 10:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The Atal Setu toll concession is expected to continue providing relief to daily commuters. FILE PIC
The Maharashtra Cabinet on Saturday approved a series of key decisions aimed at strengthening infrastructure, easing commuter burden, improving housing for police personnel, expanding irrigation facilities, and creating global employment avenues for the state's youth.
Among the major decisions, the cabinet approved the extension of the concessional toll of Rs 250 on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, also known as the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, for another year. The move is expected to continue providing relief to daily commuters and vehicle owners, including users of electric vehicles.
The cabinet also cleared the long-pending Mumbai Police Housing Township project, under which around 45,000 government residential units will be constructed for police officers and personnel across Mumbai city and suburbs to address chronic accommodation shortages within the force.
In a bid to boost overseas employment opportunities for youth, the cabinet formally approved the Maharashtra Agency for Holistic International Mobility and Advancements (MAHIMA). The new agency will focus on skill training, placement support, and coordinated implementation to connect trained youth from Maharashtra with job opportunities abroad.
The cabinet granted administrative approval of Rs 4,775 crore for the Bembala River irrigation project in Yavatmal district. Once completed, the project is expected to provide irrigation to 52,423 hectares across five talukas. The cabinet also resolved rehabilitation and resettlement issues of project-affected families in Mouja Dhamak village in Amravati district.
On the urban transport front, revised cost estimates and the state government's financial share for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase-2 (MUTP-2) were approved to expedite suburban rail and urban mobility improvements.
Funding support was also approved under the PM E-Drive scheme for the procurement of 1,000 electric buses for Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited. To ensure timely payments to suppliers, the cabinet cleared a direct debit mandate (DDM) mechanism from the accounts of Pune Municipal Corporation and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
Among other decisions, the cabinet waived the land fee for a plot allotted in Ulwe to the Tirupati Devasthanam for construction of the Padmavati Devi Temple. It also allotted 7.9680 hectares of land in Mouje Bapgaon in Bhiwandi taluka of Thane district to the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board for setting up a multi-modal hub and terminal market aimed at promoting vegetable exports. The proposed facility will include vapour heat treatment, plant irradiation, pack houses, and cold storage infrastructure.
The cabinet further approved the reorganisation of 1,901 posts in the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and its renaming as the Commissionerate of Economics and Statistics. Revised staffing patterns were sanctioned for district planning committees, divisional commissioners' offices, human development programmes, statutory development boards, pilgrimage area development, and special cells for Naxal-affected regions.
Additionally, land in Panvel West was allotted to the Annasaheb Patil Economic Backward Class Development Corporation for the construction of its headquarters and a multi-purpose building.
