The BMC will present its budget for the fiscal 2024-25 today at its headquarters. Like last year, additional municipal commissioners Ashiwini Bhide and P Velarasu will present the budget to civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who has been functioning as the BMC administrator since March 2022 after the term of corporators ended.
Generally, the municipal commissioner presents the budget to the BMC’s standing committee, but as the term of corporators came to an end on March 7, 2022, this is the second year when the civic body’s budget will be presented to the administrator.
Additional municipal commissioner (projects) to present budget
The BMC informed that this year additional municipal commissioner (projects) P Velarasu will present the budget estimates for the financial year 2024-25 to Chahal at the civic headquarters in south Mumbai.
Before that additional municipal commissioner (eastern suburbs) Ashwini Bhide will present the education department’s budget estimates for the next fiscal to the administrator-cum-commissioner.
The civic body had presented a budget of Rs52,619 crore for the financial year 2023-24, with a provision of Rs27,247 crore that was spent on infrastructure projects.
Various projects under CM Shinde
Since assuming the role of Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde has initiated various programs, including a deep cleaning drive, Mumbai Beautification program, road concretisation, open space policy, Mumbai racecourse theme park, and HBT Aapla Dawakhana. Civic sources indicate a satisfactory budgetary provision for these projects.
As the completion of the ambitious coastal road project approaches, substantial budget allocations are also earmarked for other major initiatives in the new financial year, such as the Dahisar-Bhayander link road, the second phase of the coastal road from Versova to Dahisar, road concretisation, sewerage treatment plant upgrades, construction of new bridges, seawater desalination, and the ongoing construction of the Goregaon-Mulund link road.
With around Rs1 lakh crore dedicated to development works in Mumbai, the BMC relies on property tax and GST reimbursement from the state government as its primary revenue sources.
However, there has been a setback in property tax revenue in the current fiscal, creating challenges for the BMC administration in managing expenditures as bills are yet to be sent to taxpayers. Despite this, the civic body still expects around Rs10,000 crore in GST reimbursement.
To meet expenses in the new budget, the BMC administration is likely to tap into its fixed deposits, which currently stand at approximately Rs86,401 crore. Similar to the previous year, the civic body utilized fixed deposits, withdrawing up to Rs8,000 crore.
