Mumbai Civic Body Elections: Twenty-nine municipal corporations in Maharashtra will elect their new mayors in elections scheduled for January 15. More than 15,000 candidates are in the fray across the state.
At the centre of attention is India’s richest civic body — the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). In Mumbai alone, 1,700 candidates are contesting across 227 wards to gain control of the BMC, which commands a massive budget of over Rs 74,000 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The BMC presented its budget of Rs 74,427 crore on February 4, 2025 for FY26, marking its largest-ever budget. This was about 14 percent higher than the previous year’s estimates.
Since the term of corporators ended on March 7, 2022, the civic body has been functioning under an administrator in the absence of an elected house.
Of the total budget, Rs 43,166 crore — or 58 percent — has been allocated towards capital expenditure.
Budget Bigger Than Several States
The BMC’s Rs 74,427 crore budget is larger than the entire budgets of several Indian states, despite being only a municipal body.
For comparison:
- Goa’s total budget for 2025-26 stood at Rs 28,162 crore.
- Arunachal Pradesh’s budget was Rs 39,842 crore.
- Himachal Pradesh’s budget was Rs 58,514 crore.
- Sikkim’s total expenditure estimate was Rs 16,196 crore.
- Tripura’s state expenditure estimate was Rs 31,412 crore.
Other civic bodies operate on far smaller scales. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi proposed a Rs 16,530 crore budget for 2026-27, while Bengaluru’s BBMP passed a budget of about Rs 19,930 crore for 2025-26. Ranchi Municipality’s total budget is less than 1 percent of the BMC’s budget.
The BMC, also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), governs Mumbai and some of its suburbs. Established under the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act of 1888, it was created to improve the city’s infrastructure and manage civic administration.
How Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Earns
BMC’s financial strength comes from fees, taxes, development charges and investment income. Its revenue base and fixed deposits are far higher than most other municipal bodies.
For 2024-25, BMC’s revenue income was revised upward from Rs 35,749.03 crore to Rs 40,693.85 crore. Actual revenue collected until December 31, 2024 stood at Rs 28,308.37 crore.
For 2025-26, revenue income has been estimated at Rs 43,159.40 crore — about 20.73 percent higher than the initial estimate for 2024-25.
Property tax remains a major contributor. In 2024-25, the original estimate of Rs 4,950 crore was revised to Rs 6,200 crore. For 2025-26, property tax revenue is estimated at Rs 5,200 crore.
How Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Spends
Infrastructure development — including roads, bridges, sewage systems, public health, education, security, and employee salaries and pensions — forms the largest part of BMC’s expenditure.
In 2024, BMC invested 47 percent of its revenue in Mumbai’s infrastructure. Over the last 10 years, it has spent Rs 1,11,600 crore on city upkeep and upgrades.
The FY26 budget saw a revenue increase of Rs 7,410 crore from the previous year, with Rs 43,166 crore — or 58 percent — earmarked for capital expenditure.
At least 10 percent of the budget is reserved for healthcare services. The civic body also decided to install 100 battery-operated suction machines across its 24 wards, along with continued investment in schools and education infrastructure.
Between 2012-13 and January 2025, BMC allocated Rs 11,304.59 crore as financial assistance to Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).
For 2025-26, a grant of Rs 1,000 crore has been proposed for BEST. Additionally, Rs 992 crore was sanctioned by the 15th Finance Commission for purchasing electric buses, of which Rs 493.38 crore has already been received and disbursed.
