Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday presented a Rs 74,427.41 crore budget, its biggest-ever, for financial year 2025-26 without any hike in taxes.

Elections to the country's biggest civic body, pending for three years, are expected to be held this year.

The budget was presented to municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, the state-appointed administrator of the civic body.

"The Budget Estimates for the FY 2025-26 are proposed at 74,427.41 crore, which exceed the estimates of 2024-25, which were Rs 65,180.79 crore, by 14.19 per cent," the budget document read.

Civic officials presented a budget to the state-appointed administrator for the third time in a row as the term of the BMC's general body expired on March 7, 2022.

The budget was Rs 60.65 crore surplus.

"This is the biggest-ever budget of the BMC," noted Gagrani at a press conference afterwards, adding that it reflects the "dreams and expectations" of Mumbai citizens.

No hike has been in proposed in property tax or water tax, the administrator said.

But the BMC has decided to levy property tax on commercial establishments operating from slum areas from FY 2025-26, which is expected to generate Rs 350 crore in additional revenue.

The budget earmarks Rs 43,162.23 crore for capital expenditure, while the estimated revenue is pegged at Rs 43,159.40 crore, including Rs 14,398 crore in compensation for abolished Octroi, Rs 9,700 crore from Development Plan fees and premiums, and Rs 5,200 crore from property tax.

Gagrani also noted that since 2017-18, the BMC has consistently brought down its revenue expenditure from 75 percent to 42 percent, while capital expenditure increased from 25 percent to 58 percent.

"This is a significant milestone achieved by the BMC towards infrastructure development and modernisation," he said.

Among other things, the budget allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the civic bus services BEST, acknowledging the undertaking's financial challenges.

As per the BJP-led Maharashtra government, the delay in holding elections to the BMC and other urban local bodies in the state was on account of petitions regarding OBC quota pending before the Supreme Court. PTI KK GK KRK

Property tax on commercial units in slums introduced while municipal budget raises capital spending with no general tax hike. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation presented a Rs 74,427.41 crore budget for FY 2025-26 with no general hike in property or water taxes, reallocating expenditure toward capital projects and projecting a modest surplus. It introduces a targeted property tax on commercial establishments operating from slum areas to raise additional revenue, identifies key receipts including compensation for abolished Octroi and Development Plan fees and premiums, and allocates funds for priority services including the civic bus undertaking.