Bengaluru: BBMP’s budget for 2025-26, expected to be tabled on March 29, is set be of the order of Rs 18,000 crore, marking a nearly 50% increase from last year’s Rs 12,300 crore. This will be the fifth consecutive budget presented in the absence of an elected BBMP council.
Sources in the civic body said 50% increase in the likely budgetary outlay comes after the marginal outlay during 2024-25. They say the increased outlay will show in perceptible changes in the city’s governance standards.
A recent high-level meeting discussed the allocations under Brand Bengaluru initiative, which emphasises eight key sectors: Sugama Sanchara Bengaluru (seamless mobility), Clean Bengaluru, Green Bengaluru, Healthy Bengaluru, Education Bengaluru, Tech Bengaluru, Vibrant Bengaluru and Water Security Bengaluru.
The BBMP council’s budget saw a marginal increase from Rs 11,163 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 12,371 crore in 2024-25. The civic body grappled with revenue-generation challenges through the year even as it had to spend huge sums of money on pothole fixing, fixing rain damages, desilting stormwater drains, beautification of traffic islands and road concretisation works.
“We spent 80% of the allocated budget and did not borrow additional funds from the govt. However, we faced a 20% shortfall in revenue from floor area ratio (FAR) fees and advertisements. While we intended to introduce policies for transferable development rights (TDR) and advertisements, legal hurdles delayed their implementation. These policies will now be enforced this year,” Harish Kumar, BBMP special commissioner for finance said during an interaction with TOI.
BBMP’s sector-wise allocations this fiscal reflected its shifting priorities, with increased spending on health, social welfare, horticulture and education, while public works, solid waste management and town planning saw reduced allocations.
Among major expenditures, public works saw a decrease from Rs 7,318 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 7,280 crore in 2024-25. Solid waste management, another key area, witnessed a reduction from Rs 2,044 crore to Rs 1,952 crore, indicating possible cost optimization or efficiency improvements.