BMC Unveils Rs 75,000 Crore Budget for 2025
Mumbai’s civic administration has presented an ambitious Rs 75,000 crore budget for the financial year 2025-26, focusing on large-scale infrastructure projects while maintaining its stance of no tax hikes. The budget, which aims to accelerate Mumbai’s transformation, has received mixed reactions from civic leaders, activists, and citizens.
A major highlight is the significant allocation for key infrastructure projects. The Mumbai Coastal Road Project, which is nearing completion, is already benefiting commuters, while the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road is expected to enhance east-west connectivity. In addition, the Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road and an elevated road from Link Road to Dahisar have been planned. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also issued a massive work order pipeline worth Rs 2.32 lakh crore for projects over the next five years.
However, the BMC's revenue strategy has raised some financial concerns. The civic body plans to withdraw nearly Rs 40,000 crore from its fixed deposits to fund these projects, which has raised questions about financial preparedness in case of unforeseen crises.
"If such a huge chunk of FDs is expended and a major disaster strikes, how will the BMC manage funds to tackle the situation? The municipal administrators need to think about this aspect. Otherwise, this budget is indeed excellent and development-oriented", said Ravi Raja, former leader of opposition in the MCGM, voicing his concerns on social media platform X.
Though the infrastructure surge is well-come, questions are also emerging regarding the hole in budget. Dahisar Transport Hub comes within the planning horizon, and similarly, proposed transport hubs around Mulund or Mankhurd have seen a miss here. Provisions under the Development Plan (DP) Roads projects for Project Affected Persons also come in poor light as against a city the size of Mumbai, only 5,000 PAP units are allocated across the next five years.
Despite an estimated sum being allocated to the Mithi River Project, concerns about its proper implementation remain, due to lapses in the previous administration. Activists have also condemned the budget's allocation for education. While Rs 3,500 crore is proposed for education, much of this will be used on salaries and school maintenance, with not much scope for development.
“Despite Mumbai’s civic budget being comparable to that of a northeastern state, the allocation for education remains insufficient”, said Gopal Javeri, a Borivli-based activist.
On a positive note, the budget’s focus on bridges and flyovers has been widely praised, as these projects are expected to alleviate Mumbai’s chronic traffic congestion.
This time, well-planned budgetting has been passed for bridges that will solve the periodic traffic woes of Mumbai. Already, major infrastructure works like Coastal Road and newly built bridges have been yielding positive results", commented a commuter.
The education sector also has some progressive initiatives. Expansion of BMC schools, introduction of the CBSE curriculum, upgradation of science and IT labs, and establishment of skill development centers for students to enhance career opportunities are included in the package.
Though the BMC's budget of Rs 75,000 crore is a very aggressive push toward infrastructure and public service improvement, its success will depend on the timely execution of projects, prudent financial management, and attending to the issues raised by the civic bodies and citizens.
