Thane, March 7 (PTI) The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Friday presented a Rs 5,645 crore budget for the financial year 2025-26, with a focus on urban development, citizen welfare, and financial stability.

The budget was presented to Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao, who is also the administrator as the five-year term of the corporators has already ended. It is about 12.9 per cent higher than that of last year when the outlay stood at Rs 5,000 crore.

Rao said the budget would not introduce new taxes or tax hikes and instead focus on increasing revenue through better tax compliance. To boost revenue collection, Rao emphasized bringing unregistered or under-taxed properties into the tax net.

The civic body expects to garner Rs 841.58 crore from property and other taxes, Rs 650.8 crore from development charges and Rs 1,441.79 crore through GST and other grants.

It has allocated Rs 80 crore under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme for urban renewal, Rs 132 crore for the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College building and staff quarters and Rs 3 crore for Anand Ashram area development, a place associated with late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe.

The civic body has also set aside Rs 285 crore to augment public transport in the city, neighbouring Mumbai, through its bus service and funds to manage solid waste and make municipal schools better.

The TMC’s budget for 2025-26 focuses on financial prudence, infrastructure enhancement, and citizen welfare, said Rao. With a surplus of Rs 66 lakh, the corporation aims to make Thane a ‘Swayampurna’ (self-sufficient) and ‘Atma Nirbhar’ (self-reliant) city within the next 4-5 years, he added.

Meanwhile, Kedar Dighe, chief of the Thane unit of Shiv Sena (UBT) said the budget had no allocation for Anand Dighe's memorial.

He accused the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena of using Dighe's name just for political gains.

The TMC must construct a grand and divine memorial for Anand Dighe, he added. PTI COR NR BNM

Municipal budget emphasizes revenue compliance and infrastructure funding, avoids new taxes while prompting memorial allocation dispute. Thane Municipal Corporation's 2025-26 municipal budget prioritises revenue stability through compliance and tax base broadening without new taxes, allocates funds for urban renewal, health infrastructure, area development, public transport, waste management and school improvements, projects a modest surplus and aims for municipal self sufficiency, while inviting political criticism over the absence of a dedicated memorial allocation.