Commotion in BMC house over Pednekar’s ‘28% water tax hike’ claim

The budget did not propose any annual 8% increase in water tax this year. Despite this, Pednekar urged that the alleged 28% water tax hike should be immediately withdrawn

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) general body meeting on Tuesday witnessed commotion after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader of opposition, Kishori Pednekar raised concerns over an alleged 28% increase in water tax under the estimated municipal budget for 2026–27. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporators strongly refuted the claim, calling it misleading and factually incorrect.

Mumbai, India - November 25, 2020: Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar during an interview at Mayor bungalow, Byculla in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.(Photo By Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times) (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

Pednekar’s claim comes nearly a month after the BMC had presented its municipal budget on February 25. The budget did not propose any annual 8% increase in water tax this year. Despite this, Pednekar urged that the alleged 28% water tax hike should be immediately withdrawn and reconsidered to protect Mumbaikars from additional financial burden.

Pednekar said, “The corporation is attempting to justify the hike as a step to improve Mumbai’s water supply system, but such a steep increase in essential service charges will directly impact ordinary residents who are already struggling with inflation, unemployment, and rising living costs. Increasing water tax at this time will make daily life more difficult for citizens.”

She added that citizens already contribute significantly to the civic treasury through various taxes and questioned the need for such a hike. “As of January 31, 2026, the corporation has reportedly collected ₹20,415.98 crore in revenue from multiple sources, making the 28% water tax hike appear unjustified,” Pednekar said.

Referring to national initiatives, Pednekar added, “While the central and state Governments are working under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0 to improve water access in rural areas, urban citizens also deserve fair and affordable water supply. Imposing a steep water tax hike in Mumbai would be unfair to residents.”

Responding strongly to her claims, BJP corporator and standing committee chairman, Prabhakar Shinde stated that no such increase had been announced in the municipal budget and accused the opposition of spreading misinformation. “This is fake information to mislead the house and citizens. The opposition is just wasting the time of the house,” Shinde said.

Shinde further remarked that citizens should be grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that despite global tensions and war-like situations, citizens are assured of no gas or energy shortage.

The situation escalated when opposition members raised slogans of “chor chor,” leading to further commotion in the House.

BJP leader of the house, Ganesh Khankar warned that such behaviour and disrespect towards their leadership would not be tolerated. “This isn’t how the house is conducted. We will not tolerate this disrespect towards our leader. Run the house on genuine issues and not on fake issues to mislead the public,” Khankar said sternly.

The civic administration also later clarified that there was no proposal to increase water tax in the 2026–27 budget.