The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to rename the Sawantwadi station as 'Lokmanya Madhu Dandavate Railway Terminus' in honour of the late socialist leader, regarded the "architect" of the Konkan Railway, officials said. The proposal, approved at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will now be sent to the Centre for final clearance, according to a statement issued by the CM's Office. The government said the decision fulfils a long-pending demand of people from the Konkan region.
Madhu Dandavate, a towering socialist leader and a five-term MP from Rajapur Lok Sabha constituency (which is now Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat after delimitation in 2009), served as railway minister in the Morarji Desai government and finance minister in the VP Singh regime.
In another decision, the cabinet approved amendments to the Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act, 2005, extending the deadline for general transfers of state government employees in 2026.
The cabinet also approved allotment of 4 acres and 25 gunthas of land to the Pimpaleshwar Devasthan Temple Trust at Sagav Sonarpada in Kalyan taluka of Thane district within the Dombivli industrial area. The state government approved regularisation of the temple trust's use of the land and sanctioned transfer of the land to it at a nominal rate, the statement said.
In a separate decision, the cabinet approved waiver of stamp duty and registration charges for direct purchase of private land required for the New Nagpur and New Outer Ring Road project in Godhani and Ladgaon (Rithi) villages of Hingna taluka in the district located in the Vidarbha region. The land acquisition process for the project will be carried out through direct negotiations with landowners, the statement said.
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