BMC budget likely to focus on key infra projects like coastal road, link road

Infrastructure to beryllium the cardinal focus

Last year, the BMC had presented a budget of Rs 59,954 crore, which was 13.9% implicit the fund estimation of 2024-24. Of the full fund size, Rs 31,774 crore oregon 53% was earmarked arsenic superior expenditure past year.

According to the BMC data, astir 52% of the superior expenditure has been utilised till December 31, 2024, with departments similar coagulated discarded absorption (SWM), coastal road, bridges, roads and Water Supply Project (WSP) witnessing important walk successful the budget.

Civic officials said these cardinal areas volition proceed to person important backing successful the upcoming fund arsenic galore of these projects are successful the completion stage. The officials stated that 1 of the cardinal absorption areas would beryllium the civic body’s ongoing task of mounting up 7 Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) successful Mumbai astatine a outgo of Rs 30,000 crore.

“When we speech astir infrastructure, we speech lone astir disposable aboveground infrastructure, but determination is simply a batch of infrastructure which is not visible. For example, we are doing these 7 STP plants (Sewage Treatment Plants). The enactment was started successful 2022 and the full 7 STP plants of astir 3,000 MLD enactment unneurotic — volition beryllium completed by 2028. Out of these 7 plants, 5 volition beryllium completed successful 2026, 2 mightiness beryllium a small delayed, but by 2028, each the 7 plants volition beryllium completed,” Gagrani had said astatine the Idea Exchange.

Starting this year, the BMC volition beryllium starting operation enactment for the 2nd signifier of the coastal roadworthy tunnel, which volition link Versova successful occidental suburbs with Bhayander successful the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The archetypal signifier betwixt Nariman Point and Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) became operational successful 2024. From August this year, the excavation of the 2 underground tunnels for GMLR are besides acceptable to beryllium initiated by the BMC. The civic authorities besides maintained that by December 31, 2025, the authorities purpose to execute 70% of the ongoing roadworthy concretisation works successful Mumbai.

“Most of these infrastructure works are successful the last stages, projects similar the coastal roadworthy person already acquired applicable permissions and operation works volition beryllium starting soon. As a result, important backing needs to beryllium routed towards these areas to marque definite the projected cardinal projects don’t look immoderate roadblock,” said an official. The authoritative besides maintained that departments similar the coagulated discarded absorption (SWM) volition besides announcement decent allocation successful the budget.

“The bridges section which has undertaken the coastal roadworthy (phase 2) and GMLR projects whitethorn spot important backing on with the roads and postulation department,” the authoritative said.

Revision of taxes connected cards?

Meanwhile, Gagrani besides said there’s a accidental that the BMC whitethorn revise its existing taxation rates. The spot taxation is the large root of gross to the civic body, which is revised aft each 5 years and it was successful 2015 erstwhile the taxation complaint was past revised by the authorities. As a result, determination has been nary important emergence successful BMC’s gross generation.

“Even though BMC’s resources person not gone down, determination has been nary important summation to the resources either. We person not hiked the spot taxes. We person not hiked the h2o charges. We person not hiked thing for that substance successful the past 4 years. So, determination is nary nett summation into the BMC’s kitty,” Gagrani said astatine the Idea Exchange.

“We whitethorn person to revise immoderate of the rates due to the fact that for 4 years we person not revised taxes connected spot and water. We person to put hugely into h2o projects, particularly for its augmentation. In the past 15-20 days, we had a h2o chopped which successful crook creates different contented which I realised aft moving successful BMC. Water chopped is–in a definite sense–not helping to prevention the h2o arsenic it creates problems successful the full organisation system,” helium added.

According to the BMC’s data, the SWM projects section has seen the highest utilisation of budget, with 88.87% of the allocated funds being spent till the extremity of December. This was followed by 78.86% utilisation by the Water Supply Project (WSP) section and 70.96% successful the bridges department. Nearly 69.16% of the full allocated funds were utilised by the transport section portion 61.23% of the allocated funds were utilised by the Coastal Road and 58.64% were utilised by the roads and postulation department.

Furthermore, the fund information besides showed that the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has utilized 79.39% of the full fund that was allocated astatine the commencement of this fiscal year.

Earlier, astatine the extremity of December 31, 2023 the highest utilisation of funds was done by the Coastal Road section astatine 50.44%, which was successful the last signifier of opening the high-speed corridor. This was followed by the roads and postulation section astatine 46.05% and bridges section astatine 32.08%.