Cabinet clears Rs 879.63 crore for international agriculture centre at Dabha in Nagpur

The state Cabinet has cleared a revised administrative approval of Rs 879.63 crore for an international agriculture facility centre at Dabha in Nagpur. The decision came at a meeting in Mumbai chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In all, 12 decisions covering agriculture, transport, education, the judiciary, cooperative institutions and public welfare were taken at the meeting, and Nagpur district received a good share of them.

The centre will stand entirely on land of the agriculture college of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, in Mouza Dabha. The money is divided across two phases. The first phase was originally budgeted at Rs 235 crore, and a further Rs 342.72 crore has now been added, taking its revised approval to Rs 577.72 crore. The second phase, covering further construction, has been given Rs 301.91 crore. Together the two phases make up the Rs 879.63 crore.

The Cabinet also settled how the centre will be run. A regulatory committee will be set up under the state's Chief Secretary, and an independent management committee will work alongside it. A business model is to be prepared. The Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation has been made responsible for building the facility. The government expects the centre to become a global platform for modern farming knowledge, research and technology, with agricultural exhibitions and international discussions held there. It is seen as a boost to farming infrastructure in the region.

In Nagpur district, the Bidgaon-Tarodi (Khurd)-Pandhurna Nagar Panchayat will receive 1.86 hectares of government land free of cost, in Mouza Bidgaon of Kamthi tehsil, for its administrative building. The plot is made up of three parcels: 0.67 hectare from survey number 31, 1.06 hectares from survey number 32 and 0.13 hectare from survey number 33. It will be transferred to the nagar panchayat's chief officer. The government said the step was taken in view of public convenience, and local civic administration is expected to become stronger.

Motorists got relief in the form of the Maharashtra Traffic Police Challan Waiver Scheme-2026. Anyone with pending traffic e-challans can claim a one-time rebate of up to 20 per cent on the fine and clear old dues at the lower amount.

For students, the monthly maintenance allowance in hostels for Other Backward Classes, Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes and Special Backward Classes has been raised to more than double its earlier level. Those in divisional-level hostels will get Rs 1,500 a month, and those in district-level hostels Rs 1,300. The stipend for final-year veterinary interns of the Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University has also gone up, so that they can serve villages and help farmers and livestock owners.

On the judicial side, Palghar district will get three village courts (gram nyayalayas), at Talasari, Mokhada and Vikramgad, with 15 posts sanctioned. Mukhed in Nanded district will have a senior-level regular civil court in place of the joint court cleared earlier. In Gondia city, plots allotted by auction or lease for housing will be reclassified as Class-1 land at no charge to holders.

The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust in Mumbai has been exempted from stamp duty on its purchase of Ram Mansion, which will help develop the temple complex and add facilities for devotees. Changes to the rules of the Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate University in Mumbai were also approved, dealing with the chancellor's term, the age limit for the vice-chancellor and the conditions for his or her reappointment.

In the cooperative sector, 18 Class-A institutions whose terms have run out and whose polls were put off because of drought will not have administrators installed. The Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960 and the election rules will be amended for this. Institutions with annual turnover above Rs 500 crore will have five nominated committee members: a government officer of at least assistant registrar rank, who cannot vote, and four people experienced in the institution's work. These four may vote but cannot contest for office-bearer posts. District central cooperative banks are outside the provision.