Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) presented its budget for the financial year 2025–2026 on Tuesday. BMC assigned an unprecedented budget of Rs 74,366 crore for the financial year 2025-26. The civic body budget allocated approximately Rs 4,000 crore for the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (Phase 2). BMC mentioned Phase 2, which will connect Versova and Dahisar.

The budget is a crucial component of the BMC’s operations, as it outlines the key factors and the city’s development, as well as what should be invested in and how to invest for the state. Coastal roads are crucial for Mumbai because they provide commuters with quick access and good connectivity, cutting the travel time between Marine Drive and Bandra-Worli Sea Link from 45 to 50 minutes to less than 10 minutes.

Mumbai Coastal Road Project (Phase 1)

The first phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road would be maintained, according to the budget, with Rs 1,516 crore allocated for the south section’s completion. Project Coastal Road (Phase 1) The first phase began in March 2024 with the opening of 10.58 km of coastal road. Starting at BD Somani Chowk, 280 m before the Princess Street Flyover at Marine Drive, the path leads to Worli, where it joins the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL). Estimated cost of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project Phase 1 was ₹13,060 crore.

Mumbai Coastal Road Project (Phase 2)

Phase 2 is now underway in the Versova and Dahisar neighborhoods of Mumbai. BMC mentioned the total amount of 4000 crore rupees that was permitted for phase 2 in the budget for 2025–2026. BMC is keenly focusing on the Coastal Road Project to develop the city and to reduce the traffic issue of Mumbai

BMC Budget 2025-26 Other Highlights

The BMC budget also prioritizes waste management services and educational facilities. Among the greatest services in Mumbai, together with the roads such as the Goregoan Mulund Link Road and the concretization projects

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed that Devendra Fadnavis has not shifted to `Varsha’, the official residence of the Maharashtra Chief Minister in south Mumbai, because of superstition.

The grapevine has it that buffaloes allegedly slaughtered in Guwahati during Eknath Shinde’s visit to the Kamakhya temple were buried on the premises of `Varsha’ so that the CM’s post should not stay with anybody else other than Shinde, he said.

Fadnavis succeeded Shinde as chief minister following the November 2024 assembly elections.

“Why isn’t Devendra Fadnavis not moving into `Varsha’? The CM has said even if he moves there, he will not sleep there. What is this? The `limbu samrat, limbu mirchi’ (a reference to those who practise black magic) of the Shiv Sena should respond to this,” said Raut, a member of the Rajya Sabha.

`Limbu’ (lemon) and `mirchi’ (chilli) are supposedly used by black magic practitioners.

“I have heard there were discussions within the BJP that the horns of the buffaloes sacrificed in Guwahati were buried in the lawns of Varsha….there is talk that the horns were brought here so that the CM’s post should not stay with anyone else, this is what the staff says,” Raut told reporters.

While there was no immediate reaction from the chief minister’s aides to Raut’s claims, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, now deputy CM, told reporters on a sarcastic note: “Raut is an expert in that field. He should know.”

In the past, Raut had alleged that buffaloes were slaughtered at Guwahati after Shinde revolted against Uddhav Thackeray and camped at a hotel in the Assam city with other rebel Shiv Sena MLAs before returning to Maharashtra and becoming chief minister by toppling the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Raut, meanwhile, demanded an explanation from Fadnavis about why he was not living at `Varsha’, a “pride of the state.”

Maharashtra is a progressive state with a tradition of social reformers like Mahatma Phule, Prabodhankar Thackeray and Gadge Maharaj who assailed superstitions, he said, adding that yet superstition has now taken over the corridors of power.

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a financial grant of Rs 1,000 crore to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in its Budget Estimates (B.E.) for the financial year 2025-26. This allocation comes despite BMC’s own pressing financial commitments toward ongoing infrastructure projects and other essential objectives.

Since 2012-13, BMC has extended financial assistance totaling Rs 11,304.59 crore to BEST until January 2025. The new Rs 1,000 crore provision aims to address various operational and capital expenditures, including infrastructural development, capital equipment procurement, loan repayment, acquisition of new buses through a wet lease model, employee pay revisions, day-to-day operational costs, the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) project, Diwali bonuses, pensioners’ gratuities, and electricity dues.

Additionally, the grant includes Rs 128.65 crore as BMC’s 5% share for the procurement and deployment of 2,000 electric buses for Mumbai, in accordance with the directives of the Maharashtra State Government.

Boost for Electric Mobility

In a significant push toward sustainable urban transport, the 15th Finance Commission has sanctioned Rs 992 crore for the purchase of electric buses. Of this, Rs 493.38 crore has already been disbursed to BEST, while the remaining Rs 498.62 crore will be transferred upon receipt from the Finance Commission. This initiative aligns with Mumbai’s long-term goal of transitioning to an eco-friendly public transport system.

Mumbai’s public transportation backbone, BEST, has been grappling with financial challenges in recent years. Despite serving nearly 35 lakh passengers daily, the BEST fleet is dwindling, with the number of buses reduced to below 3,000. Notably, nearly two-thirds of these buses are operated on wet lease agreements.