Health top priority in BMC budget

The BMC, the country’s richest civic body, on Wednesday presented a budget of ₹39,038.83 crore for 2021-22, which proposes no new taxes, but focuses on upgrading the city’s infrastructure and healthcare system in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with municipal schools.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body, on Wednesday presented a budget of ₹39,038.83 crore for 2021-22, which proposes no new taxes, but focuses on upgrading the city’s infrastructure and healthcare system in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with municipal schools.

he Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body, on Wednesday presented a budget of ₹39,038.83 crore for 2021-22, which proposes no new taxes, but focuses on upgrading the city’s infrastructure and healthcare system in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, along with municipal schools.

The Shiv Sena-ruled civic body, which goes to polls next year, also announced its plan to vaccinate 10 million of the city’s 14 million residents against Covid-19.

Around 12% of the budget ( ₹4,728.53 crore) has been earmarked for strengthening the healthcare system. Last year’s health allocation, too, was around 12% — ₹4,260 crore.

In cash-strapped times, owing to the decrease in revenue during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown since March 2020, the civic body has made several new “citizen-friendly” announcements in the budget: Apart from improving civic infrastructure, which includes parks, footpaths and vacant spaces under flyovers, the civic body, in a significant move, has also asked the state government to make it Mumbai’s single-planning authority instead of allowing multiple agencies to plan areas of the city under its jurisdiction.

Budget 2021-22 is 16.74% more than the previous year’s budget, which was pegged at ₹33,441.02 crore.

Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who presented the budget before the civic standing committee, said, “This budget has no new taxes and no new charges. Property tax is due for revision this year. However, this is not a budget announcement as this is part of the corporation act and is due every five years.”

The BMC’s capital expenditure, that is money utilised to upgrade infrastructure and amenities in the city, has increased to ₹18,750.99 crore in 2021, which is ₹7,847.41 crore more than last year’s allocation of ₹10,903.5 crore.

This money will fund projects such as the coastal road, the sewage treatment plants, the Goregaon-Mulund link road, the Hydro-Solar Power Project on the Middle Vaitarna dam, the desalination plant, rejuvenation of the Mithi River, and Dahisar, Poisar, and Walbhat Rivers, upgradation of the Deonar Abattoir, reconstruction of 12 rail overbridges, six road overbridges and upgradation of five hospitals.

Chahal said, “This is the first time, that BMC budget is kick-starting infrastructure projects amounting to ₹40,000 crore. This entire amount is the capital side of the expenditure.” While the coastal road project received a whopping ₹2,000 crore, the Goregaon-Mulund link road received ₹1,300 crore. The ratio of capital expenditure of the BMC to the revenue expenditure, which is money needed on the administrative side for the civic machinery, is 48:52, as against last year’s ratio of 35:65.

In view of the pandemic, a new communicable diseases hospital will be built in the premises of Kasturba Hospital.

Chahal has given a special mention in the budget to BMC’s request to the state government to turn the civic body into a single-planning authority for the city of Mumbai. This will ensure integrated planning of the city, Chahal said. Chahal, while presenting the budget, said, “The proposal is under active consideration of the state government and it will happen soon. BMC needs to be the sole planning authority. In the first part of this plan, Cuffe Parade and Marine Drive area, where Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is the planning authority, will be handed over to the BMC.”

To improve public perception of municipal schools, 963 upper primary schools, and 224 secondary schools under BMC will be renamed Mumbai Public Schools.

The budget has proposed setting up food hubs at 65 popular locations across the city, with a capacity to house 3,331 vendors. These will be operational from 6pm to 11pm. Apart from this, 149 footpaths, 128 traffic islands, and 42 spaces under flyovers will be upgraded and beautified, with an allocation of Rs200 crore.

A Dabbewala Bhavan will be constructed in Mumbai. The budget said, “The Dabbewalas are the pride of Mumbai city. They have been a part of Mumbai city for more than a century, since 1870, and continue to deliver hot home-cooked meals to about 200,000 employees of the city daily.”

The budget has also introduced the concept of monetary compensation for project-affected people of municipal infrastructure projects. Chahal said, “We have noticed a delay in projects due to the deadlock we face while relocating PAPs. Those who are not willing to relocate to far-away places, will be given monetary compensation. This will help us speed important infrastructure projects in the city.” BMC has made an allocation of ₹100 crore with this in mind. BMC will also construct 11,000 homes for municipal employees. BMC has also announced a compensation of ₹50 lakh per family, for 101 deceased BEST employees who contracted coronavirus on the job.

The BMC will also create a special climate-change department in the civic body, which will become operational from April 1, 2021, to tackle pollution and climate change issues in the city.

With this being the second budget after Mumbai’s development plan 2034 was approved by the state in May 2018, BMC has allotted a whopping ₹5,947 crore towards implementation of the development plan and developing civic amenities, such as toilets, parking lots, municipal dispensaries, or schools. BMC has allocated ₹4,728 crore for the health department and ₹2,945 crore for education.

Also, to ensure timely renewal of all fees due to the municipal corporation, such as water charges, property tax, fire scrutiny fee, BMC is looking to establish a Fee Revision Authority.

Opposition parties in the BMC were not impressed with the budget.

“This budget has shown dreams to the citizens which cannot be fulfilled, and there is no relief as such to the citizens in this budget. The property tax relief that was supposed to be given to the citizens residing in flats below 500 square feet is also not given. On top of this, citizens will also have to pay more property tax due to the five- yearly revision slab to come in effect from April onwards,” said Ravi Raja, leader of opposition and Congress corporator.

Prabhakar Shinde, BJP group leader in the BMC, said, “The budget for 2021-22 is clear that the BMC has nothing new to offer to its citizens. The entire budget is based on old and ongoing projects whose implementation has been delayed since many years. The promises made, too, are not realistic in the budget.”

Reacting on the BMC’s budget, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “The BMC’s budget for 2021-22 presented today is for the overall development of the city and to provide better facilities to the citizens of Mumbai. The budget has also emphasised on education, health and beautification of Mumbai.”

In context of criticism over only general tax being excluded by the BMC, Pednekar added, “The former chief minister made a mistake when it came to property tax waiver and we are trying to correct the mistake. I would like to ensure that the overall budget presented today will lead Mumbai towards development.”