The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Budget (2024-25) proposes several policy shifts with the aim of shoring up the civic body’s revenue base, besides promising allocation for programmes tagged under the ambitious Brand Bengaluru campaign.
The Budget was presented by Special Commissioner (Finance) Shivananda H. Kalakeri on February 29. This is the fourth consecutive Budget presented by officials in the absence of an elected council since September 2020.
Mr. Kalakeri presented a ₹2.7 crore revenue surplus Budget with an outlay of ₹12,371.63 crore and an estimated expenditure of ₹12,369.46 crore. The key highlight in the outlay is the proposed capital expenditure of ₹6,661 crore, which amounts to 54% of the total Budget.
As acute water shortage has gripped the city, the civic body proposes to drill 1,000 new borewells but, apart from that, does precious little about water conservation.
Brand Bengaluru
The theme is ‘Brand Bengaluru’, and ₹1,580 crore has been allocated for initiatives with a promise to maintain these funds in an escrow account.
While ₹200 crore was allocated as seed money for building two tunnel roads on a pilot basis, ₹50 crore will go towards building a sky deck — two pet projects of Deputy CM and Bengaluru Development Minister D. K. Shivakumar. Other initiatives championed by him, including ‘Hasiru Mitra’, ‘Hasiru Rakshaka’ and ‘Udayana Mitra’, have found pride of place in the Budget.
The Budget makes significant allocations for roads, including widening roads, developing new roads as proposed in the Revised Master Plan 2015, and two new alternative roads to Kempegowda International Airport. BBMP has allocated ₹300 crore to the ongoing white-topping of roads.
It has opted for Public Private Partnership mode to build optic fibre cable ducts along arterial roads. The civic body is looking to raise ₹2,000 crore through a loan from the World Bank to construct concrete retention walls for storm-water drains.
However, earlier PPP initiatives to build 100 SHE toilets has failed to take off, the budget indicates.
The BBMP will provide ₹1,000 crore for Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Company. It proposes allocating ₹100 crore to purchase four land parcels on the outskirts of Bengaluru to set up integrated waste processing centres.
Welfare-oriented budget
The budget has proposed to set up 50 new Indira Canteens, including mobile canteens, for which ₹70 crore has been allocated. Canteens will come up at the BBMP head office and Kempegowda International Airport, among other venues.
₹100 crore has been allocated to invigorate health services.
There is a proposal to introduce a pension scheme for pourakarmikas (civic workers) from the next fiscal, and ₹137.50 crore has been allocated for the same. BBMP proposes to set up night shelters for the protection of transgenders.
Increasing revenue streams
Apart from setting a higher target for property tax, the Budget proposes to introduce a new advertisement policy, which is expected to generate ₹500 crore. The civic body hopes to generate another ₹1,000 crore by selling Premium FAR across Bengaluru.
The Budget promises to make all transactions on Transferable Development Rights (TDR) online, creating an online exchange for the sale and purchase of TDR. BBMP Estate Management Rules, 2024, will be used to monetise its assets better. With these measures, the BBMP has set a target of raising ₹8,272.74 crore through its own sources.
