The World bank had laid down this condition to extend 65 per cent of its loan for the Rs 6,433-crore Mumbai Urban Transport Project-II. The bank will also extend the same percentage for the Rs 900-crore project to be completed by Urcom in the next five years. The state chief secretary and principal secretary, urban development, will oversee the project work.

Chief minister Manohar Joshi told reporters that Urcom's share capital would be Rs 10 crore. The Rs 900-crore rehabilitation project would involve 49 per cent equity by railways, Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state public works department and other government agencies while the balance will be held by HDFC, ICICI, SBI, IL&FS and LIC Housing.

Joshiadmitted that the union cabinet has yet to clear the formation of Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, a joint venture between the state and central government, to implement railway projects envisaged in the MUTP-II. The state was pursuing the matter and he hoped that the project would take off soon.

Joshi said that the cabinet had decided to grant 30-day bonus of Rs 2,500 to c-, d- and b-grade non-gazetted officers. Gazetted officers under grade a and grade b were not entitled for bonus but they would be compensated with ex-gratia of Rs 3,500, he said.

He said that the government's decision would benefit 17.77 lakh employees including teaching and non-teaching staff of aided schools, colleges affiliated to agriculture and non-agriculture universities and employees of zilla parishad, municipal corporations and councils. The bonus will be given before Diwali and will cost the state exchequer Rs 388 crore, he added.