After a gap of nearly four years, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will take place on Thursday (January 15). The polls will bring back an elected council to the institution, which governs Mumbai’s day-to-day functioning and long-term development.
The BMC was founded in 1865 and is the country’s richest and most influential municipal body.
Here is a look at what the BMC does and why it matters.
The BMC stands apart because of its scale. With an annual budget of around Rs 74,000 crore, it has more money at its disposal than several Indian states, including Goa, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. It also employs about 1.15 lakh people, including permanent and contractual staff, making it one of the largest civic employers in the country.
The administration is headed by the municipal commissioner, a senior IAS officer who holds executive powers. They are assisted by four additional municipal commissioners and a joint municipal commissioner.
The elected wing is led by the mayor, whose role is largely ceremonial, with most of the decision-making powers resting with the commissioner.
The responsibilities
The BMC functions as Mumbai’s local government and is responsible for services that residents depend on daily. These services are:
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Roads: The civic body builds and maintains Mumbai’s 2,050 km road network. Its job includes repairing damaged roads, fixing potholes, laying new roads and ensuring smooth traffic movement.
Currently, the BMC is converting around 700 km of roads into cement concrete for Rs 17,000 crore. The aim is to reduce potholes and improve durability, especially during the monsoon season.
Water supply: Mumbai depends on seven lakes for its drinking water: Tulsi, Vihar, Bhatsa, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, and Modak Sagar. Only two of these are located within city limits.
The BMC manages these lakes, filters the water, and supplies it to homes and businesses through an extensive pipeline network. It also handles repairs, leakages, and expansion of the water supply system as the city grows.
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Waste management: Mumbai generates between 8,000 and 10,000 metric tonnes of garbage every day. The BMC is responsible for collecting waste from homes and public spaces, transporting it to processing plants and landfills, and keeping roads clean. It also maintains public toilets and treats sewage before releasing it into the sea and creeks.
Public health & education: The BMC runs one of the largest public healthcare systems in the country. It operates four medical college hospitals, 16 general hospitals, four specialised hospitals, along with dispensaries and maternity homes. A large section of Mumbai’s population depends on these facilities for affordable treatment. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the BMC played a central role by setting up quarantine centres and large Covid care facilities.
In education, the BMC runs more than 1,100 municipal schools, offering primary and secondary education. Many of these schools are now affiliated with the CBSE board and provide low-cost education to children from economically weaker sections.
Building infrastructure: The BMC also builds major infrastructure projects. These include flyovers, bridges, subways, and key link roads. One notable example is the Mumbai Coastal Road, which was opened in 2024. It reduced travel time between Marine Drive and Bandra to under 10 minutes.
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Other major projects include the Goregaon Mulund Link Road and the next phase of the coastal road connecting Versova to Bhayandar. The BMC also maintains more than 340 bridges and skywalks across the city.
Public transport & open spaces: The BMC is the parent body of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST), which runs more than 2,500 buses in Mumbai and the suburbs. While BEST has faced financial challenges, the BMC provides regular financial support. For the current year, the civic body has allocated Rs 1,000 crore to the transport undertaking.
The BMC also manages 26 off-street parking lots and more than 350 on-street parking spaces. Also, it maintains more than 800 gardens and open spaces across the city.
The funding
The BMC is also one of the biggest tax-collecting local bodies in India. Its main source of income comes from property tax, which is charged on residential, commercial, and industrial properties in Mumbai. Other sources include water charges, sewerage charges, fees from building permissions, parking fees, and fines.
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It also earns revenue from development charges, paid by builders, advertisement fees and grants from the state government. This strong revenue base allows the BMC to fund large infrastructure projects and public services without depending heavily on the state government.
The election
With such vast financial resources and wide-ranging responsibilities, the BMC has a direct impact on the quality of life in Mumbai. Civic elections are important because they bring public accountability to decisions on spending infrastructure and services that affect citizens every day.
As Mumbai votes on Thursday, the outcome will shape how the city is governed and developed in the coming year.
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