02 February,2024 11:43 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The budgetary estimates this time are 10.5 per cent more. Pic/BMC
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday unveiled the annual civic budget for the financial year 2024-25.
The BMC, India's richest civic body, presented a Rs 59,954.75 crore budget for the year 2024-25.
The budgetary estimates this time are 10.5 per cent more than the 2023-24 amount of Rs 54,256.07 crore. The civic administration presented the budget to municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who was appointed as BMC administrator by the state government after the five-year term of corporators ended in March 2022.
"The budget estimates for the financial year 2024-25 are proposed at Rs 59,954.75 crore, which exceeds the budget estimates of 2022-23, that is Rs 54,256.07 crore, by 10.5 per cent," said the budget document.
This is the second time after 1985 that the BMC administration has presented the budget to an administrator as the five-year term of its corporators has ended.
BMC Budget 2024: Rs 928.65 crore allocated to BEST
According to the budget document, a total budget provision of Rs 928.65 crore has been allocated as a grant to the BEST undertaking in the proposed budget of 2024-25.
"Considering financial position of BEST Undertaking, a provision of â¹800 crore is proposed in B.E. 2024-25 as a grant to BEST Undertaking to meet out expenditure on infrastructural development and purchase of capital equipments, repayment of loan, new buses on wet lease basis, pay revision, day-to-day expenses, ITMS project, payment of Diwali bonus to employees, gratuity and other dues of pensioners, electricity dues, etc.," said the budget document.
"BEST has planned to procure and deploy 2000 electric buses for Mumbai City. The cost of this project is Rs 2,573 crore. For viability gap of this project, 70 per cent amount i.e. Rs 1,801 crore will be funded by the World Bank in form of Soft Loan. Also, 25 per cent share i.e. Rs 643.35 crore will be made available by Government of Maharashtra to BEST Undertaking and UDD, Government of Maharashtra has informed BMC to fund remaining 5 per cent share i.e. Rs 128.65 crore. Accordingly, a provision of Rs 128.65 crore is proposed in B.E. 2024-25, as additional grant to BEST Undertaking," it added.
BMC Budget 2024: Education budget increases around Rs 150 crore
BMC announced an annual education budget of Rs 3,497.82 for the Financial Year 2024-25. The civic body increased the educations funds around Rs.150 crore from last year's budget estimate which was Rs 3,347.13.
BMC Budget 2024: BMC records rise in revenue income during FY 2023-24
The BMC recorded a rise in its revenue income during financial year 2023-24.
According to the budget document, the civic body recorded an actual income of RS 19,231 crore upto December 31, 2023. Meanwhile, the actual income received by the BMC till December 31, 2022 was Rs 18,769 crore.
"The Budget Estimates of Revenue Income for the financial year 2023-24 was proposed to Rs 33,290.03 crore which is revised to Rs 32,897.68 crore, a fall by Rs 392.35 crore. The actual income received upto 31.12.2023 is Rs 19,231.55 crore. The estimated Revenue Income for the financial year 2024-25 is proposed to Rs 35,749.03 crore which is Rs 2,459 crore more than Budget Estimates of 2023-24," the budget document said.
BMC Budget 2024: Property Tax
According to the civic body, in the financial year 2022-23, property tax has been collected in the same manner as in 2019-20 and the actual income from property tax was Rs 4,994.15 crore.
"In the financial year 2023-24, revenue from property tax was estimated to Rs 6000 crore which is revised to Rs 4500 crore, a fall by Rs 1,500 crore," the budget document said.
The civic body further said that BMC has filed a petition in Supreme Court against the decision passed by Bombay High Court against Capital Value Base Tax System in which the final verdict was against BMC. "Capital Value 2010 and 2015, rule no.20, 21, 22 have been quashed by Hon'ble Supreme Court's order. Hence, there is drop in collection of Property Tax resulting thereby a decrease in income of BMC from Property Tax," it said.
BMC Budget 2024: Mumbai Coastal Road Project
For its ambitious Mumbai Coastal Road Project, the BMC in its budget has allocated a fund of Rs 2,900 crores.
The revised expenditure for the fiscal year 2023-24, meanwhile, stands at Rs 3,000 crores.
While the south-works on the project is 83.34 per cent complete, the first phase is slated to become operational this year.
"Efforts are being made by BMC to open the part of Coastal Road from February 2024 and we are determined to complete the project work till May 2024. The Mumbai Coastal Road Project (South) work of Package I, II, IV is in progress and till December 24, 2023, 83.34 per cent work is completed. In Package IV, excavation of tunnels work is completed. Interchange work of Package-I is 99 per cent completed and 69 per cent in Package-II is completed," the budget document said.
BMC Budget 2024: Goregaon Mulund Link Road project gets Rs 1,870 crore
For the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, the civic body has allocated a fund of Rs 1, 870 crore. Meanwhile, a total budget provision of Rs 1160.95 crores is proposed in the revised expenditure for the fiscal year 2023-24.
"The project is being implemented in four phases. In Phase-3, work of construction of Twin Tunnel of 4.7 km length with internal dia. 13 meter under Sanjay Gandhi
National Park by Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), Box Tunnel of 1.6 km length in Film City area alongwith approach roads has been commenced. The work will use two new TBMs based on
the latest technology and includes SCADA by setting up an updated control room for tunnel traffic, electronic equipment for air quality monitoring inside the tunnel, State-of-the-Art emergency telephone system and modern fire prevention system with operation and maintenance period of 10 years," the civic body said.
The main objective of Phase-3 is to propose an alignment along the shortest route, to establish a high speed, high capacity East-West link, to plan East-West road link without adversely affecting environment and to propose a non-invasive solution enabling preservation of city's green forests i.e. SGNP, Aarey and its lakes. Also, it will save huge capital cost on part of land acquisition as this route will be constructed underground through National Park & Aarey. Also, Phase-4 is under planning stage, it added.
