How India's Richest Civic Body BMC Earns And What It Spends On

Twenty-nine municipal corporations in Maharashtra are going to elect their new mayor in elections scheduled for January 15. In focus is India's richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). 

So how does the BMC earn its revenues and where does it spend them? NDTV takes a look. 

India's richest municipal corporation

The BMC is touted as the most resourceful municipal corporation in the country. In Financial Year 2024-25, its estimated budget was twice the budget of the two other metropolitans - Delhi and Bengaluru - put together. 

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Photo Credit: X @mybmc

As per media reports, the BMC presented a budget outlay of Rs 59,954.7 crore, while the budgets for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) were Rs 16,683 crore and Rs 12,369 crore, respectively. Kolkata Municipal Corporation's budget for the financial year was just Rs 5,166.5 crore.

In the last 10 years, the BMC's budget has almost doubled to Rs 51,000 crore in Financial Year 2024-25. Spending has jumped from Rs 20,500 crore in Financial Year 2015-16 to Rs 44,500 crore this year.

BMC's revenue

The corporation's revenue has grown steadily over the decade and maintains a strong fixed deposit, interest on which forms a portion of its annual revenue. In FY25, the BMC's revenue is pegged at Rs 81,774 crore.

Fees for various services, licences, and usages form the biggest source of its revenue, followed by grants and subsidies received from state and central governments, taxes, and income on investment and interests on reserves. 

Between 2016 and 2025, the corporation received Rs 94,600 crore from "Fees and User Charges" - an umbrella term used for registration fee, admission fee, late service license renewal charge, swimming pool reservation charge, demolition charge, advertisement charge, water connection charge, among others. 

It received Rs 86,700 crore from revenue grants and subsidies received for different government schemes, and for services provided on behalf of other government agencies. For example, the BMC charged the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Rs 61.7 crores for cleaning Bandra-Kurla roads in the Financial Year 2023-24.

The Mumbai city administrator received Rs 75,800 crore from taxes like street tax, theatre tax, electricity tax, property tax, water tax, etc, between FY16 and FY25.

BMC's Spending

Development of infrastructure like roads, bridges, sewage lines, public health management, education, security, employees' wages and pensions constitutes the biggest chunk of the BMC's expenditure. In the last 10 years, it has spent Rs 11,1600 crore on the city's upkeep and upgrade.

Rs 10,700 crore were spent on grants to hospitals, educational institutes, libraries and contributions to different funds and schemes during this period. Similarly, Rs 36,300 crore went to operations and maintenance of public infrastructure.

The city spent Rs 8,600 crore on administrative functions like audit, insurance, legal expenses, advertisement and public relations, fuel, travel, freight, and vehicles, etc, as per official documents.

The BMC spends considerably on public health initiatives. In FY25, it spent Rs 99.5 crore to control vector-borne diseases and pesticides, and Rs 12.8 crore on rodent control.