The 2025-26 Delhi Budget set aside ₹10,357 crore for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), a 25% increase over the Revised Estimates for the previous financial year, as chief minister Rekha Gupta stressed that the hiked funding would help the civic body solve the mismanagement of sanitation in the Capital.
“Of this, ₹3,560 crore will be for education, health care and sanitation, ₹3,337 crore will be given in the form of basic tax assignment (BTA). Further, ₹3,640 crore will be given as stamp and registration fees and one-time parking charges,” said the chief minister.
Gupta, who was a municipal councillor for 12 years before being elected chief minister last month, also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of ignoring MCD and assured councillors that the state would free up more funds if required.
“I have told MCD officers that they can take more funds should they need it, but we should not see any garbage in the city. They should clear agencies’ payments, pay employees’ salaries, but garbage should not be seen on streets,” said Gupta.
The AAP allocated ₹8,423 crore for MCD in its 2024-25 Budget Estimates.
One of the BJP’s major focus areas in the run-up to the Delhi elections was improving the city’s dire sanitation and waste management.
“We were also in MCD and kept demanding funds. How will the garbage be lifted, drains cleared and roads be repaired when you do not provide the local body a share? Councillors did not get their funds and the (Delhi) government tried to keep everything in its own hands,” she said.
The hike comes with Delhi mayor Mahesh Kumar’s term drawing to a close, with the BJP in pole position to snatch the MCD House from the AAP. The party now has 117councillors in the 250-member House and the AAP. The majority tilted after three members switched sides in February. The house will vote on a new mayor in April. Further increasing the margin, Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta last week nominated 11 BJP and three AAP legislators to MCD, who will form a part of the electoral college that elects the mayor and deputy mayor of Delhi.
If Delhi’s ruling party wins control of the civic body, it would complete what the party calls a “triple-engine government” — the BJP’s nomenclature when it controls governments in the Centre, state and the civic body.
The civic body is in severe financial distress and MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar during the budget presentation last week highlighted that liabilities of ₹14,000 crore, including pending payments to contractors, employee salaries, retirement benefits, and loan repayments.
MCD receives funds from the state government in the forms of three key streams — for schemes and projects, basic tax assignment shares and portion of stamp registration and one time parking charges. Grants and allocations from the state government form a significant chunk of revenue source for the corporation. All three heads have increased in comparison to last year — education, health care and sanitation by ₹407 crore; basic Tax assignment by ₹382 crore and stamp fees and one-time parking charges by ₹1,325 crore.
The chief minister attacked the AAP dispensation, adding that it did not increase funds for the municipality even when it came to power in the corporation. “They did not provide funds while we were in power and even when their own government was formed…the BJP government will provide the share for the local body. Every single rupee will be provided.
The BJP ruled the MCD between 2007 and 2022, before the AAP returned to power in 2022.
“Given CM Gupta’s extensive experience with the Municipal Corporation, significant improvements will be seen in both the financial condition and service levels of the corporation in the coming years,” Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said.
The issue of fund allocation was a long-standing tussle between the AAP Delhi government and the MCDs during the BJP’s time in power.
The AAP government reduced the budgetary allocation to the erstwhile three municipal bodies for three successive years. It earmarked ₹6,828 crore in 2020-21, ₹6,172 crore in 2021-22 crore and ₹6,154 crore in 2022-23. The funding rose in the next two years. It allocated ₹8,241 crore in 2023-24 and ₹8,423 in 2024-25.
Atul Goyal, who heads United RWAs Joint Action, a collective body of RWAs, said civil society should be involved in monitoring implementation of projects and utilisation of funds.
“A department will never acknowledge its shortcomings. Simply increasing funds will only lead to more corruption. Third-party monitoring and independent verification has to be ensured. RWAs have to be involved in the process,” he added.
