Mumbai: With elections for the mayor, deputy mayor, and statutory committees likely to be held in the first week of February, civic officials have expressed concerns that the BMC's financial budget for 2026–27 could face delays. Officials said that adhering to the mandated timeline may prove challenging due to the election schedule, raising uncertainty over the timely presentation of the budget. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has requested the state government to grant an extension of one month for presenting its annual civic budget.
Timeline Disruption
The Municipal Commissioner traditionally presents the annual budget in the first week of February to the chairperson of the BMC's Standing Committee, a key statutory body responsible for financial decisions. However, with the 2026 BMC elections having concluded recently and the elections for the mayor and deputy mayor expected to be held by the end of January, followed by the election of chairpersons for the four statutory committees in the first week of February, the usual timeline is likely to be disrupted.
Sources within the civic body said the BMC will seek the Urban Development Department’s nod to delay the presentation of the budget. For the 2025–26 financial year, the country’s richest municipal corporation had presented a budget of Rs. 74,427 crore, with allocations for several ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Mumbai Coastal Road (North), the Versova–Dahisar Link Road, and the Goregaon–Mulund Link Road, along with significant spending on civic services, healthcare, and education.
Power Battle
Meanwhile, the mayor’s post will be subject to reservation by rotation, to be decided through a draw of lots on January 22. However, the real battle for power in the BMC goes far beyond the mayor’s chair. Control over key statutory decision-making committees such as the Standing, Improvement, Education, and BEST committees, widely seen as the nerve centre of India’s richest civic body—will determine who truly runs the corporation. With stakes this high, the BJP–Shinde-led Mahayuti is expected to hold intense negotiations over the division of chairmanships of these crucial committees, where actual authority and financial control reside.
The mayor has a tenure of two-and-a-half years, while chairpersons of statutory committees serve for one year. Elections for new committee chairpersons are normally held on April 1, marking the start of the new financial year. However, since these positions are set to be filled in February this year, no elections will take place in April. Following the expiry of the elected corporators’ five-year term in March 2022, the BMC has been under administrative rule. An official said that once the mayor and chairpersons of statutory committees are appointed, the four-year-long administrative rule will come to an end.
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