India, Nov. 5 -- After approving the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganpati Mandir Trust's Rs.94.12-crore proposal to acquire the adjoining Ram Mansion Cooperative Housing Society in Prabhadevi to facilitate the expansion of one of the city's most popular temples, the Maharashtra government, at its cabinet meeting on Wednesday, approved a waiver of the stamp duty payable on the transaction.

While approving the land acquisition on October 15, the government in its order had specifically stated that the stamp duty, registration charges and other incidental expenses would be paid from the temple trust's available funds, and the state exchequer would not bear the financial burden. That decision has now been changed.

"The waiver of stamp duty on the pu...