The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) on Tuesday approved a Rs 1,712-crore Budget for 2026-2027 (FY27), projecting a resource gap of about Rs 400 crore as expected income of Rs 1,311 crore — including Rs 850 crore in grant-in-aid and Rs 461 crore from its own revenue — falls short of the planned expenditure.
The Budget proposes Rs 1,102 crore under revenue expenditure and Rs 610 crore under capital expenditure, with total estimated receipts of Rs 1,726 crore. Of this, Rs 461 crore is expected to come from the civic body’s own revenue sources, which Joshi described as a step toward financial self-reliance.
The Mayor described the Budget as a roadmap toward an AI-enabled, self-reliant and developed city, aligned with the Centre’s governance approach and the Digital India vision. He said the document is not “merely a statement of income and expenditure but a long-term blueprint” aimed at making Chandigarh a fully AI-driven, transparent and corruption-free city by 2047.
Infrastructure push
Around Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for core civic infrastructure such as roads, sewerage and water supply. Allocation for gaushalas has been increased from Rs 7 crore to Rs 27 crore. No funds have been set aside this year for the 24×7 water supply project; instead, Rs 61.75 crore has been proposed for replacing old pipelines.
Major increases compared with last year include roads and parking (Rs 44.10 crore to Rs 140 crore), water supply strengthening (Rs 3.50 crore to Rs 61.75 crore), machinery upgrades (Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 54.20 crore), storm-water drainage (Rs 11 crore to Rs 50 crore) and sewerage (Rs 5 crore to Rs 44.50 crore).
Financial position
The civic body expects Rs 850 crore in grants and Rs 461 crore from its own revenue. The projected Budget has now been sent to the administration for final approval, which will decide whether to clear it in full or impose cuts. With estimated annual essential expenditure of Rs 1,020 crore, around Rs 291 crore is projected to remain for development works.
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Meanwhile, salary and allowances continue to account for the largest share of spending. Salary outgo is projected at Rs 261.23 crore, slightly lower than last year due to retirements and no fresh recruitment, while allowances are expected to rise to Rs 338.65 crore because of annual DC-rate revisions. Other major expenses include electricity bills, pensions, sanitation and minor works.
Execution capacity vs projections
The MC Commissioner said historically the capital spending has never exceeded Rs 150 crore, and its realistic execution capacity is about Rs 300 crore. However, Rs 600 crore has been provided under capital expenditure to ensure adequate funding for long-term projects, many of which take one to two years to complete. He added that delays due to administrative or technical reasons sometimes lead to surrender of funds, and the corporation is working to improve monitoring, tendering speed and inter-department coordination.
Digital and AI initiatives
The Budget allocates Rs 10 crore specifically for AI and IT upgrades, including a smart single-window system, digital file tracking, AI-based grievance redressal, smart street-light monitoring and online billing. Officials said these measures are intended to reduce physical visits to offices and improve service delivery.
Environment and PPP projects
Joshi said that the civic body has set a target of achieving zero-waste status by 2047. Provisions include Rs 32.50 crore for solid waste management, green-area expansion, AI-based waste tracking and waste-to-energy models.
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Projects such as multilevel parking, community centres, EV charging stations and theme gardens are planned under the public-private partnership model to attract investment and create jobs.
Revenue projections
As per MC officials, commercial property-tax collection is expected to reach Rs 62 crore by March this year and has been projected at Rs 65 crore next year. Residential property-tax revenue is likely to touch Rs 32 crore this year and is projected at Rs 35 crore next year.
Also, garbage collection revenue is expected to meet the Rs 30-crore target this year and is projected at the same level next year, while municipal electricity-linked tax is estimated at Rs 20 crore.
Officials said overall revenue estimates have been balanced by increasing some heads and reducing others while keeping the total own-revenue projection at Rs 461 crore.
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Meanwhile, calling the Budget a “foundation for Chandigarh’s golden future”, the Mayor urged the House to pass it unanimously. He said the long-term goal is to build a city where civic services are fully digital and transparent, the corporation is financially self-reliant, and development reaches every resident.
The projected Budget has now been sent to the administration for final approval, which will decide whether to clear it in full or impose cuts.
F&CC committee clears civic works on electrification, sewerage and transport infra
The Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) of the Municipal Corporation on Tuesday approved a series of development projects related to electrification, drainage, sewerage strengthening and transport infrastructure across the city.
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The meeting was chaired by Mayor Saurabh Joshi and attended by MC Commissioner Amit Kumar, councillors and senior officials.
Among the approved works, decorative LED lighting worth Rs 47.49 lakh will be installed in the inner market adjoining the V4 road in Sector 35 C and D to enhance illumination and aesthetics.
Another Rs 23.92 lakh project will provide street and park lighting in Sectors 34 and 43 to address dark spots and improve safety. A separate Rs 15.21 lakh proposal was cleared for installing a high mast light in a Sector 15 park and additional streetlight poles in Sector 23.
In Sector 22 markets, old fixtures will be replaced with high-wattage LED decorative globe lights at an estimated cost of Rs 32.85 lakh.
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The committee also approved infrastructure strengthening works, including Rs 34.64 lakh for upgrading the sewerage system in parts of Burail village to prevent blockages and improve capacity. A Rs 21.61 lakh project will strengthen the storm-water drainage network in Sector 15 A, B, C and D through construction and repair of manholes and road gullies to tackle waterlogging.
For the transport area in Sector 26, the panel cleared Rs 31.30 lakh for market and roadside infrastructure upgrades, along with Rs 35.66 lakh for installing a 60-metric-ton weigh bridge to improve monitoring and streamline transport operations.
