Only 15 percent of BMC budget allocated for wards, finds Praja-TISS report
Only 15% of the budgetary provision for 2023-24 has been allocated at the ward level in Mumbai, with the remaining 85% retained for major works. Wards in the island city have received more funding for civic amenities compared to suburban areas, according to a report by Praja Foundation and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The report suggests introducing participatory budgeting at the ward level and allocating a proportion of the BMC revenue expenditure to each administrative ward based on economic, geographic, and population data.
MUMBAI: Of the total budgetary provision of ₹52,619 crore made by the civic body for 2023-24, only 15 percent has been allocated at the ward level, the remaining 85 percent being retained for major works such as roads, bridges and water, where services are mainly handled by the central agency. These findings are part of the December 2023 report published by Praja Foundation in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

The report also finds that wards in the island city have received more money from the BMC budget for various civic amenities as compared to their suburban counterparts. More money flowing to the wards makes all the difference, says the report.
“There is a significant budget which goes to the central department and some to the wards,” said Milind Mhaske, chief executive officer, Praja Foundation. “If the quality of life is good in certain wards, it is because of better roads, good gardens and better civic amenities. So we wanted to understand what the per capita spend at that level on different amenities and services is, how it stacks against different wards and how it stacks against the overall budget.”
Mhaske said that as per Praja’s findings, certain wards got the bulk of the money while the suburban wards got comparatively less for civic amenities. “In a way, it is discriminatory,” he said.
The Praja report also states that the percentage of budget allocation to the wards has shown a consistent decrease. In 2021-22 it was 18 percent, which decreased to 15 percent in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Praja and TISS conducted the analysis based on functions like solid waste management, footpaths, gardens, storm-water drains, markets and public health. On the possible reasons why island city wards were the main beneficiaries of the budget, Mhaske said it could be due to the floating population in the island city. “But major offices are also located in the western suburbs now and a significant number travels there. So, this argument doesn’t hold weight,” he said.

Last year, the BMC initiated the practice of a ‘Participatory Budget’ to begin from 2023-24 onwards. “However, this practice should be introduced at the ward level for inclusivity and there should be increased participation of citizens to raise their needs at the local area level,” said Mhaske. “As a yearly exercise, we want to rope in citizens’ groups so that they utilise the budget for the betterment of their wards.”
Other recommendations by Praja and TISS include the BMC Ward Budget Book comprising previous years’ budget estimates, revised estimates and actual utilisation in the Ward Budget Book instead of the overall BMC City Budget. The proportion of total BMC revenue expenditure needs to be allocated substantially to the 24 administrative wards of Mumbai city based on the economic, geographic and population data of respective wards, says the report. This will bring in more efficiency in service delivery and accountability in the governance of the administrative wards in the city.
The report adds that the Ward Budget Books should continue to publish ‘Ward at a Glance’ details, as they did until 2021-22, to evaluate the status of civic amenities and delivery of services in the respective ward projects. The report states that the ward budget also needs to set some basic service-level benchmarks in terms of budget outcomes.

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