The Maharashtra Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday took a crucial step to accelerate the Virar to Alibaug Multipurpose Motorway (VAMMC) project by approving the procurement of Rs 37,013 crore loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), backed by a government guarantee.
The cabinet also decided to shut down the defunct state-run asset reconstruction company, MAHA ARC Limited. The 126.3-km corridor aims to link key industrial and logistics clusters in Mumbai and its suburb, including Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, with the Mumbai Trans Harbour Sea Link.
The project will be developed on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model after initial tenders under the engineering procurement construction route were found unviable. A comfort clause has been approved to ensure repayment security for HUDCO in case of revenue shortfall.
In a related decision, the Cabinet formally approved the closure of Maha ARC Limited, a state-promoted asset reconstruction company formed in 2022. The Reserve Bank of India had denied the licence for operations, making the continuation of the entity legally not feasible.
The Cabinet also cleared amendments to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, covering non-agricultural land use permissions and taxation. It approved annual financial support of Rs 7 crore for Lakshmi Narayan Innovative Technology University, Nagpur, for the period 2025-26 to 2029-30.
Housing support was sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for 30,000 homes for unorganised workers in Solapur, with exemption granted from unearned income, donation charges, and non-agricultural tax.
Several judicial infrastructure proposals were accepted, including the establishment of District and Additional Sessions Courts at Ghodnadi in Pune district and a Senior Civil Court at Paithan in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Required posts for judicial officers and staff will be created.
A key health sector decision involved setting up an Urban Health Commissionerate under the Public Health Department to decentralise urban health services. The Cabinet also approved the regularisation of contractual employees under the National Health Mission who have completed ten years of service, as a one-time measure.
Additionally, the remuneration of field workers involved in Ayushman card distribution will be increased, and the treatment list under state and central health insurance schemes expanded. Fisheries activities have been granted parity with agriculture for credit support, with a 4 per cent interest refund on short-term working capital loans.
The Cabinet also backed amendments to the proposed Maharashtra Public Trust Ordinance, 2025, and sanctioned posts for Punyashloka Ahilyadevi Holkar Government Medical College, Baramati.