Civic body drafts budget with Rs 1,079 crore deficit

With hopes of getting increased funds, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has drafted Rs 2,114 crore budget for 2025-26, with a massive deficit of Rs 1,079 crore. The draft budget was presented in the Finance and Contract Committee meeting today and is likely to be tabled in MC House meeting on Budget scheduled for February 17.

According to the draft, the MC has sought Rs 1,704 crore as a grant-in-aid from the Centre and Rs 9 crore as reimbursement for electricity duty from the UT Administration. It plans to generate Rs 410 crore from its own sources, primarily through property tax and water bills.

However, with the UT Administration allocating only Rs 625 crore from the Central Budget announced on February 1, the civic body is facing at a massive deficit of Rs 1,079 crore. The funds fall short of even covering its committed liabilities, including Rs 900 crore for staff salaries, pensions and utility bills.

For the ongoing fiscal 2024-25, the MC had passed a Rs 2,325 crore budget, setting a target to generate Rs 633 crore from its own sources.

However, the revised estimates revealed that it could only collect Rs 347 crore, less than 55% of its projection. For the coming fiscal, the MC is targeting Rs 410 crore in revenue from its sources, despite facing challenges in meeting the past targets.

For 2025-26, the MC has estimated a total expenditure of Rs 1,664 crore, which includes Rs 1,197 crore under the revenue head for committed liabilities and Rs 467 crore under the capital head for development works.