The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Thursday, March 19, unanimously passed a resolution supporting the decision to name the upcoming railway station between Thane and Mulund after late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, popularly known as ‘Dharmveer’.
This move reflected the sentiments of residents, the civic body said in its statement.
The civic body stated that the railways had decided to build the station in view of the rise in the number of commuters travelling between the city and Mulund, in neighbouring Mumbai.
The move has been widely welcomed across the Thane–Mulund region, with expectations that the new station will improve connectivity and streamline suburban rail travel.
The proposal to name the station after Dharmveer Anand Dighe gained momentum after Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske raised the demand in Parliament earlier this week on behalf of Deputy Chief Minister and party chief Eknath Shinde.
The station is part of efforts to ease congestion on Thane and Mulund stations, offering much-needed relief to daily commuters.
The estimated cost for the new station was projected to exceed INR 250 crore. Under the agreement previously established with the Smart City initiative, it was decided that the TMC would bear this specific cost and the Railways would execute the construction work.
According to the release, Shiv Sena MPs Shrikant Shinde and Naresh Mhaske met with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, advocating that the Railways themselves should bear this expenditure.
Vaishnaw has agreed that the Railways will bear this expenditure and conveyed this decision to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, informing him that a formal proposal had been submitted to the Railway Board for final approval, it said.