Mumbai: Municipal Corporation (BMC) – Asia’s richest municipal body plans to raise ₹9,500 crore through ‘municipal bonds’. The bonds are to be issued by December. However, Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhiwandi East, Raees Sheikh, on Tuesday demanded that the municipal administration issue a financial white paper on the corporation’s investments before issuing the bonds. Speaking on the issue, MLA Raees Sheikh noted that the BMC has selected three companies – A.K. Capital Services, Tipsons Consultancy Services, and Trust Investment Advisors – to manage the proposed bonds. These companies will act as merchant bankers in the issuance process. The corporators have consistently opposed the hasty issuance of these bonds, and this opposition continues. The bonds are essentially a form of debt. The BMC will have to pay interest on them, and the indirect burden of all this will ultimately fall on the citizens of Mumbai.

The BMC squandered crores of rupees on city beautification projects just before the elections. As a result, the corporation’s financial management has deteriorated. This has forced the BMC to borrow funds from the market for infrastructure projects like sewage treatment plants, integrated flood control schemes, pumping stations, tunnels and major roads. MLA Raees Sheikh alleged that for the first time in the 133-year history of the BMC, the corporation has been forced to raise funds through bonds.

A credible repayment plan is essential while issuing bonds. It is necessary to verify whether the municipal corporation is able to repay the loan or not. However, the municipal administration is not ready to discuss the issue. As a result, the opposition has been continuously demanding a financial white paper. Issuing a white paper will reveal the exact financial position of the corporation and will clarify the details regarding its investments. MLA Raees Sheikh said that an inquiry should also be conducted about the corporation’s investment, and only then would it be appropriate for the administration to issue bonds worth Rs 9,500 crore.

Mumbai: Western Railway does not have records of criminals and black marketing cases of tickets brokered by railways or found involved in these cases, this shocking revelation was made by Mumbai Western Railway in response to an RTI application filed by activist Anil Gilgali. Information provided to RTI activist Anil Gilgali by the Western Railway’s security department under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 shows that a total of 2,885 cases related to the sale of illegal railway tickets have been registered between 2021 and 2026 (till now). However, it was claimed that information about the specific agents and employees arrested in these cases is not available.

According to the data received, the following cases were registered: 684 in 2021, 629 in 2022, 655 in 2023, 538 in 2024, 249 in 2025, and 130 so far in 2026. This shows that the Railway Protection Force is taking action against Western ticketing against the RPF.

Although the RTI application also sought year-wise and zone-wise details of touts, agents and railway employees arrested in such cases in the last five years, Western Railway in its reply said that “such statistics are not maintained at the zonal headquarters level.” Consequently, the data of arrested touts, agents and employees was not provided.

RTI activist Anil Gilgli remarked that the registration of thousands of cases against ticketing highlights the seriousness of the issue. He said that the failure of Western Railway to maintain records of arrested touts, agents and employees at the zonal headquarters level weakens monitoring and accountability. He urged the railway administration to maintain a central data on such cases and make it public regularly to ensure more effective prevention of ticket fraud.

Mumbai, July 28: 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.