A Praja Foundation report on ‘Ward Wise Budget of Mumbai’, analyzing ward-wise budgets of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from 2021–22 to 2025–26, underscores growing disparities in budget allocations across the city’s 24 administrative wards.

The report, prepared in collaboration with TISS Mumbai, highlights a substantial increase in BMC’s overall expenditure along with a growing imbalance in BMC’s budget allocations to wards.

Drop in ward-level allocations amidst rising budgets
According to the report, while the BMC’s total budget saw a sharp 91% rise—from Rs 39,027 crore in 2021–22 to Rs 74,367 crore in 2025–26, the share allocated specifically to wards declined from 18% to just 11% over the same period. This trend indicates a weakening focus on decentralized, ward-level governance and financial planning.

Milind Mhaske, CEO of Praja Foundation, highlighted the disparity, saying, “Over the past five years, while the BMC budget has nearly doubled, the share allocated to wards has steadily declined. This widening gap highlights the urgent need to strengthen ward-level financial planning.”

Capital expenditure to wards drops sharply
The report reveals a significant drop in the share of capital expenditure allocated to wards from 10% in 2021–22 to just 3% by 2025–26. This is despite a 130% increase in the BMC’s overall capital expenditure during the same period. The data suggests a growing imbalance between city-wide infrastructure projects and local, ward-specific needs.

Uneven distribution based on geography and demographics

Key findings point to stark regional disparities:

Island City: Witnessed a 48% drop in property tax collection—from Rs 1,758 crore in 2021–22 to just Rs 917 crore in 2023–24—yet recorded the highest per capita revenue expenditure, despite comprising only 25% of Mumbai’s population.

Western Suburbs: Home to 44.42% of Mumbai’s population, this region receives the lowest per capita revenue and capital expenditure.

Eastern Suburbs: Though generating the lowest per capita property tax, it records the highest per capita capital expenditure, likely due to major investments in storm water drainage in the N  and L wards.

Alarming cuts in slum development budgets
The report also flags a 53% reduction in the overall budget allocated for slum development across Mumbai between 2021–22 and 2025–26. Notably, the Eastern and Western suburbs—which are home to 38% and 45% of the city’s slum population, respectively saw severe slum budget cuts of 72% and 66%.

Lack of transparency in ward budgets
A critical shortcoming highlighted by the study is the limited data in BMC’s ward budget books, which currently only publish Budget Estimates (BE) for the current financial year. The absence of Revised Estimates (RE) and Actuals (AU) from previous years makes it difficult to track spending patterns or evaluate the effectiveness of budget allocations.

Amita Bhide, Professor at TISS, emphasized, “This report raises fundamental questions about why important factors like population density and living conditions are not considered in city budget planning.”

Recommendations 
The report proposes several key recommendations to address these issues:

     Align ward budgets with the city budget by including BE, RE, and AU figures.
     Allocate more funds based on ward-specific economic, geographic, and population data.
    Reintroduce these summaries to improve monitoring of civic services.
    Establish performance metrics to assess budget outcomes.
    Extend citizen participation initiatives to the ward level.
    Build a digital portal to facilitate greater citizen engagement and transparency.

Nitai Mehta, Founder and Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation, stated, “The report highlights the importance of designing ward-level plans that truly reflect citizens' aspirations. Participatory budgeting and digital platforms can bridge this gap.”

Call for good governance and accountability
Chairing the report launch, Sitaram Kunte, Advisor to Praja Foundation and former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, expressed hope that the findings would serve as a catalyst for governance reform,  “These insights must be used to promote transparency, accountability, and active citizen engagement in Mumbai’s governance processes.”

The analysis spans five financial years (2021–22 to 2025–26), covering budget allocations across key civic functions, including solid waste management, roads, storm water drains, public health, gardens, markets, and slum development.

Elected representatives, civic officials and members of civil society organisations were present on the occasion   aimed to deliberate improving participatory budgeting and strengthening citizen engagement at the ward level.