New budget in February, BMC has spent only 37% of this one

MUMBAI: It’s less than a month before the BMC announces a new budget but it has, so far, spent only about 37% of last year’s budget. The silver lining, however, is that the expenditure on various public works till December is slightly higher as compared to the previous year, when 31% of the budget was spent.

The BMC, the richest civic body in the country, is expected to present its budget for 2019-20 in the first week of February.



On February 2 last year, the municipal commissioner had presented a budget of Rs 27,258 crore for Mumbai for 2018-19, an 8% increase over 2017-18 budget (Rs 25,141 crore). The total allocation for public works or capital expenditure was pegged at Rs 9,522 crore. Capital expenditure is 20%-35% of the BMC’s budget ever year. Statistics indicate that of the Rs 9,522 crore allocated for various development works, the BMC spent only Rs 3,508 crore (around 37%) till December 2018. But the situation is slightly better than last fiscal when the BMC, spent only Rs 2,518 crore (31%) of the total allocation of Rs 8,121 till December 2017.



But corporators remained cynical and said the expenditure so far was too less considering the fanfare with which projects were announced in the 2018-19 budget. Opposition party leader in the BMC Ravi Raja said projects like the Rs 100-crore dedicated cycling and jogging track along Tansa water pipeline to create an alternative mode of transport remains a distant dream. “There was also the over Rs 1,000-crore proposal for the construction of an underground water tunnel to augment supply, which is on a standstill,” he added. Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria said: “Such bigticket projects may or may not take off, but what is important is that they need to improve the city’s infrastructure to benefit the common man.”

But civic officials pointed that expenditure has been growing every year. “Previously, barely 20-25% of the budget would be spent, but the scenario is changing since the past two years. The heads of various departments have been asked to seek funds only for projects for which they have all permissions and know that work will start from that year,” said an official.

RTI activist Anil Galgali said only civic officials should not be blamed for the low budget spending. “Corporators need to push the administration to ensure that public money is spend for citizens’ benefit.”