TMC Commissioner Saurabh Rao presents ₹5,645 crore budget, prioritizing sustainability and infrastructure | File Photo
Thane: The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) commissioner and administrator Saurabh Rao presented a ₹5,645-crore budget for the financial year 2025-26 on Friday, which is ₹620 crore more than the previous year, with no proposals for any tax hike.
There were efforts to increase revenue and discipline in expenditure. TMC is focusing on environment, sustainability, infrastructure, education and welfare initiatives.
Thane Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao emphasized ten significant things for the budget for 2025-26: no proposals for tax hikes, efforts to increase revenue, discipline in expenditure, measures for a sustainable environment, infrastructure work for transport, transformation of municipal schools to provide quality education, welfare schemes for women, senior citizens, and special needs individuals, e-office administration, a tree census and tree conservation, and attention to the quality of work.
In a budget that aimed to focus on several major aspects—urban development cleanliness, health, improve public transport, upgrade municipal schools, education services, implement sustainability meausres for Thane citizens.
TMC Commissioner Saurabh Rao presents ₹5,645 crore budget, prioritizing sustainability and infrastructure | File Photo
“We will focus on these in the coming financial year,” Rao said. “The deputy chief minister too has been keen to improve Thane city along these aspects. His suggestions, along with those from the MP and MLAs, were also included in the budget.”
The budget will focus on creating pothole-free roads, reducing traffic congestion, enhancing city beautification, improving waste management, and providing better health facilities, including air quality monitoring stations.
‘The emphasis will be on quality work,’ said Rao. The budget emphasizes increasing revenue income, maintaining fiscal discipline in expenditure, and reducing unnecessary revenue expenditures.
In 2025-2026, the estimated revenue expenditure is ₹3,722.93 crore, and capital expenditure is projected at ₹1,929.41 crore. The budget also includes a closing balance of ₹66 lakh. The civic administration aims to utilise these funds to support Thane’s long-term growth while maintaining financial stability.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, TMC prepared a budget of ₹5,025.01 crore. However, revenue from water supply charges, tax collection, advertisements, and the city development department declined, and it is estimated that revenue decreased from ₹3,454.83 crore to ₹3,292.42 crore.
The grants estimate for 2024-25, projected at ₹284.32 crore, was received. However, by December 2024, the actual grants received amounted to ₹914.35 crore. Based on this, the revised budget expected grants and assistance to be ₹1,162.71 crore. A loan of ₹20 crore was initially planned under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme for water security, but it will not be taken by March 2025 and hence will not be included in the budget.
In 2024-25, the revenue expenditure was originally projected at ₹3,345.66 crore; however, it was later revised to ₹3,034.77 crore. Moreover, capital expenditure, initially set at ₹1,679 crore, was later increased to ₹2,067.50 crore due to a rise in capital grants.
The corporation is also expecting to collect revenue of ₹225 crore from water tax in 2024-25, but it declined to ₹200 crore. However, TMC is also expecting to collect revenue of ₹250 crore from water tax in 2025-26. TMC will initiate a special drive to increase water tax after imposing penalties.
The income from property tax and fees in 2024-25 has been revised from ₹899.71 crore to ₹776.42 crore by March 31, as the actual income from property tax collection so far has been ₹512.42 crore by December 2024.
TMC has an outstanding loan of Rs 66 crore. The central government has approved the detailed project report for the expansion of water supply, pond conservation, and beautification under the Amrut Scheme 2, under which the central government will have a 25 percent share, the state government 25 percent, and the municipal corporation 50 percent. The municipality plans to raise a loan of ₹60.89 crore in the year 2025-26.
In terms of expenditure, the civic body has made budgetary allocations of ₹50 crore for the Atakoli waste collection system (fertilizer or organic gas), which was approved, while ₹5 crore was allocated by TMC, ₹90 crore for a Ghanta Gadi for collect waste, ₹85 crore for road cleaning works, and ₹30 lakh for a deep clean drive, including roads, footpaths, dividers, public toilets, schools, and hospitals.The budget has also allocated ₹60 crore for the renovation or reconstruction of 801 toilets comprising 10,250 seats. The budget has allocated ₹12 crore for the cleaning of public toilets.
Under the Chief Minister’s ambitious ‘Changing Thane’ campaign, a strong network of roads is proposed to be constructed across Thane. The government has approved a total of ₹605 crore for 2023-24 and 2024-25 for the construction of 283 roads, of which 275 road works have been completed. This includes renewal, missing links, widening, and concretization works. In 2025-26, ₹25 crore is proposed for road repairs or road surfacing.
An allocation of ₹59 crore has been made for beautification works in Thane city, specifically for the conservation and beautification of 15 lakes. Additionally, ₹20 lakh has been allocated for women’s safety welfare, ₹2 crore for senior citizens, ₹17 crore for persons with disabilities, and ₹15 lakh for transgender individuals.
