BMC to spend 10 pc of budget amount on health services; to redevelop its hospitals to add 3,515 beds

Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday said it will spend 10 per cent of the more than Rs 74,400 crore budget amount on health services in the city.

Addressing a press conference after the presentation of the budget at the civic headquarters, BMC chief and state-appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani said civic-run hospitals will be redeveloped and 3,515 beds, including 970 specialty and super-specialty beds and 153 Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds, will be added in the next two years.

The BMC on Tuesday presented a Rs 74,427.41 crore budget, its biggest-ever, for financial year 2025-26 without any hike in taxes.

"At present, the government hospitals in Mumbai have around 15,000 beds, while private hospitals have about 31,000 beds. If we consider that Mumbai's population is two crore, its hospitals should have more beds as per the standards," he said.

Mumbai currently has 250 'Aapla Dawakhana' (our dispensary) clinics operational, and 90 lakh patients have been treated there.

In the budget, the BMC proposed to set up 25 new 'Aapla Dawakhana' clinics and three physiotherapy centres in the next financial year.

"Though the zero prescription policy was adopted this year, it could not be implemented fully. In the new budget, we have proposed to implement it 100 per cent," Gagrani said.

The BMC's existing four CBSE schools have received good response, and it plans to start add four such schools in the new year, he said.

According to him, the civic body has proposed to purchase 100 battery-operated suction machines, four per civic ward, to curb the air pollution due to dust particles.

The civic body provided 611 tonnes of 'shadu' clay to Lord Ganesh idol makers, and the financial provision has been made for providing it in the next financial year as well, he said.

The BMC has proposed to plant 4,416 plants on 17 different plots, and the plants of rare and indigenous plants will be planted there.

Gagrani said the civic body also plans to redevelop Fashion Street, located between Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, besides the development of a zoo, where non-native animals like zebras, giraffes, jaguars and others will be exhibited, on a 10-acre plot at Byculla Zoo.

The civic body has already invited tenders for the work, and the work is expected to start this year, he added.

BMC also mentioned the Mumbai Eye on the lines of the London Eye in the budget documents, but the civic commissioner said that they have not yet found a suitable location for the project.

Meanwhile, the BMC budget document said its fixed deposits dipped marginally to Rs 81,774 crore from Rs 84,824 crore, and the liabilities tied to various infrastructure works increased to Rs 2.32 lakh crore in the current fiscal year from Rs 1.99 lakh crore.

Replying to a question related to the dip in the FD amount, Gagrani said it was not a true indicator of the BMC's financial health in any way.

"We are prioritising public works and the upgradation of the civic infrastructure and not defaulting on salaries, pensions of our ex-staff, contractors amounts, etc," the civic chief said.

As per the BMC officials, this was the second year in a row when capital expenditure received a higher allocation compared to revenue expenditure in the civic budget.

The budget document said, "There are around 2.5 lakh slums in Mumbai. A number of these slum areas (at least 20 per cent, i.e. 50,000 slums) are being used for commercial purposes such as small and large industries, shops, godowns, hotels, etc. As the BMC provides infrastructure facilities to these establishments, it is necessary to recover property tax by assessing these commercial units. Also, this revenue will help provide better services and infrastructure to slum dwellers." The budget document highlights that the civic body has also made a request to the state government to declare its projects as vital urban transport projects.

Gagrani said that for vital infrastructure projects, the state government has imposed a cess through stamp duty, and that is being collected by BMC, but the state government is insisting that it should be apportioned with the various agencies.

"The government is ready for it, but we are insisting that we should get 50 percent of that kitty, and to get that, our projects need to be declared vital urban infrastructure projects," Gagrani said while explaining the technical aspect of it. PTI KK NP

Source: PTI