The Maharashtra government has disbursed Rs 143.17 crore to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) for works under the MUTP-III project. The funds, sourced from AIIB assistance and routed via MMRDA, will support suburban rail upgrades, track augmentation, service extensions, and rolling stock procurement to ease congestion
Representational Image. File Pic
The Maharashtra government disbursed a total of Rs 143.17 crore to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) on Friday to carry out works under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-III. The fund has been disbursed by the Maharashtra government to ease the congestion on the suburban railway network.
The Urban Development Department, while issuing a government resolution (GR), said that the amount of Rs 124.48 crore has been released as additional central assistance from the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank). The loan is supposed to be passed on to the MRVC through the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). News agency PTI reported that the disbursement is strictly conditional and classified as non-recurring assistance.
Meanwhile, a separate order further stated that “Rs 18.69 crore were released in July 2025, taking the cumulative amount transferred to MRVC under the MUTP-III project so far to Rs 1,289.70 crore,” as cited by news agency PTI.
Addressing the disbursements of the funds, officials said, “The funds would accelerate ongoing works, including extension of suburban services, track augmentation and procurement of rolling stock, which are critical to meeting the needs of Mumbai's expanding metropolitan region,” as reported by news agency PTI.
However, the GR warns that any release of cash without prior consent from the state government will be deemed unconstitutional and outside of the sanctioned financial framework. Both the MMRDA and the Housing and Area Development Corporation (HUDCO), the project's financial partners, have been directed to keep separate accounts for contributions and disbursements while adhering to central and state audit rules.
News agency PTI has also reported that, as part of the financing structure, the AIIB has extended a loan of USD 500 million (approximately Rs 3,500 crore), signed in August 2020 between the Centre, the Maharashtra government and the MRVC.
However, the repayment of this loan, including interest and lease charges, is to be borne through surcharges levied on suburban train tickets, the GR noted.
The disbursed amount has been routed through the MMRDA, which will in turn, transfer it to the MRVC for project execution. Moreover, the resolution underlines that the MRVC must submit quarterly reports to both the Urban Development and Finance Departments, detailing collections made from passenger surcharges and utilisation of funds.
While the suburban railway is considered the lifeline of Mumbai, with more than 3,000 services operated daily across the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) networks, the disbursement of funds will surely help them enhance their efficiency in a better way.
(With inputs from PTI)
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