New Delhi: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will present its budget 2025-26 on Tuesday at 11:00 am in the meeting hall of the Municipal Headquarters. The budget will begin with Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr Amit Saini presenting the financial plan of the education department before Municipal Administrator Bhushan Gagrani. After this, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar will present the overall budget estimates. The BMC budget in 2025-26 is expected to be Rs 65,000 crore. For 2024-25, the BMC had presented a budget of Rs 59,954.75 crore.
A large portion of the funding is expected to be directed towards vital infrastructure projects such as the Mumbai Coastal Road (Phase 2) and the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) as well as the health sector. After the Corona crisis, BMC has not imposed any new tax on Mumbaikars. At the same time, property tax for houses up to 500 square feet in Mumbai has been waived, due to which BMC is incurring a loss of Rs 4,500 crore every year.
Key infrastructure projects likely to get big boost
This will be the third consecutive budget announced and submitted by the municipal commissioner since the BMC’s elected general body was dissolved in March 2022. Major infrastructure projects are likely to get priority in the upcoming budget. These include projects like the Mumbai Coastal Road (Phase-2) – from Versova to Dahisar and the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR), which are now nearing completion. The civic administration is expecting a large financial allocation for these projects as they will play a key role in transforming the city’s connectivity.
Departments like solid waste management (SWM), and Water Supply Project (WSP) will also see a substantial spend in the budget. A major part of the budget will be dedicated to the construction of seven sewage treatment plants being built in Mumbai. This project costing around Rs 30,000 crore is considered very important for the management of dirty water and environmental improvement in the city.
Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has reportedly said that there’s a likelihood that the BMC may revise its existing tax rates. Property tax is the primary source of revenue for the civic body, with rates revised every five years. The last revision took place in 2015, leading to a lack of marked increase in the BMC’s revenue generation since then.
A look at the previous budget
In the 2024-25 budget, the BMC presented its biggest ever budget of Rs 59,954.75 crore without imposing any new tax. A large amount was allocated for major projects, including Rs 1,200 crore for free medicines in municipal hospitals. In addition, there was a significant increase in the budget for the health sector—from Rs 6,309 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 7,191 crore in 2024-25. Other significant allocations included Rs 340 crore for upgrading footpaths, streets and by-lanes, and Rs 100 crore for women safety measures.
