Even though the uncertainty over its election continues, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner IC Chahal, who is an administrator in the absence of an elected general body, on Friday presented an annual budget of Rs 59954.75 crore for the year 2024-25 without making the announcement of new major projects. The budgetary estimates this time are 10.5 per cent more than the 2023-24 amount of Rs 54,256.07 crore. 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.
The civic body has proposed a provision of Rs 31,774.59 crore to be strategically deployed for infrastructure works to facilitate speedy completion of major projects like Mumbai Coastal Road Project, Goregaon Mulund Link Road, Sewage Treatment Plants, Concretisation of Roads, Water and Sewerage Tunnels, Mithi River Projects, Rejuvenation of Rivers, Ashray Yojana, Hospital development works as well as improvement in BMC services as per desired quality. These projects are expected to further strengthen Civic Facilities to keep Mumbai Clean, Green and Aspirational.
Chahal announced the first phase of 10 km of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19, while both phases will be operational by May 15. This apart, the BMC has laid focus also on health infrastructure, cleanliness and pollution control.
Despite strong criticism by the opposition, Chahal defended the use of BMC’s reserves to push the development of vital infrastructure projects for the improvement of infrastructure assets of Mumbai City. ‘’Only with large investments, the infrastructure of Mumbai City can be brought to global standards. Since the reserves fetch only a marginal interest benefit to BMC, it would be prudent on the part of BMC to deploy these reserves highly selectively in vital infrastructure projects.
The opportunity cost of not doing such expenditure will make the city poor in physical infrastructure and the competitive edge as the global city will come down,’’ he argued. He said that after giving adequate deliberations, BMC has been deploying part of its reserves for the creation of vital infrastructure assets for the past three years. ‘’We will ensure that reserves are funnelled towards Capital Expenditure to improve the standard of infrastructure for Citizens in Mumbai,’’ he opined.
Chahal has proposed a Transportation & Commercial hub on the Octroi Naka sites at Dahisar and Mankhurd in order to reduce the traffic congestion in Mumbai as well as to generate revenue for BMC, a Transportation Hub along with development like commercial/office/retail spaces, transit hotel, convention centre, exhibition centre. Besides, the civic body plans to push reforms in the Estate Department by roping in world-renowned Real Estate Consultants having experience in this field to advise/guide and implement a road map for the generation of revenue from BMC leasehold / tenanted properties to the tune of Rs 10000 crore annually.
Under the proposed ‘New Policy’, clusters of buildings/plots within the same wards will be redeveloped, and the financial potential of vacated plots will be explored through various options, including auctioning.
The civic body will carry out the refurbishment of the Western Express Highway & Eastern Express Highway with the implementation of the Access Control Project by improving one junction on the Eastern Express Highway and three junctions on the Western Express Highway.
Furthermore, the civic body plans to push the Chief Minister’s Deep Cleaning Programme in Mumbai and also implement the Chief Minister’s Zero Prescription Policy in all BMC hospitals with the inclusion of all necessary medicines on the medicine schedule. It has proposed a provision of Rs 500 crore.
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