The decision was taken following a recent meeting between Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and chief secretary of the vachnalaya Sada Kamthe. Education Minister Sudhir Joshi, who is also the president of the vachnalaya, was also present at the meeting.

In a press release the Mayor issued today, he stated, ``The decision has been taken following request made by Joshi and Kamthe to Thackeray.'' He added, ``I did not want the 91-year-old vachnalaya to get into debt trap. Taking into consideration the fact that most of the members of the vachnalaya are from the middle-class, I decided to release the money.''

Last month, the Mayor had ordered the finance department to stop the payment to the vanchnalaya organisers. Despite the criticism, Satamrefused to reconsider his decision though the alliance partner, BJP, was also against his decision.