By Kashifa Wisal
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Commissioner Rajendra Bhosale tabled the budget for the financial year 2025-26 on Tuesday with an overall outlay of ₹12,618 crore. This is up by ₹1,017 crore from the last year’s budget, which was ₹11,601 crore. In spite of this, the civic administration has chosen not to hike property tax, a pledge to avoid additional burden on residents.
The budgetary allocation is at a time when PMC has struggled to meet revenue targets, primarily because of the disruption caused by the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. Bhosale accepted the revenue collection shortfall but was confident that the administration would be able to earn more income in the next year. “While we were unable to meet our revenue and expenditure this year, we are hopeful of better financial collection in the next financial year,” he said.
A major chunk of the budget has been reserved for infrastructure development, with ₹623 crore set aside for merged villages, road works, and the metro extension. As the city grows, PMC is working towards enhancing urban mobility and lessening traffic congestion. The construction of 33 major roads, such as the current work on Ganeshkhind Road, which is seriously disrupted by Metro and flyover construction, continues to be a priority. The project involves the building of a double-decker bridge, where the upper deck will be used for the elevated Metro and the lower deck as a flyover for cars.
Additionally, PMC has made advances in creating 33 “missing links” of the road network in the city, an action geared towards building inner ring roads and alternate roads to mitigate traffic congestion. The development of thirty of the missing links has already commenced, with land acquisition in progress for the remaining three.
Not everyone, however, is hopeful that the budget will take off. Civic activist Vijay Kumbhar faulted the allocation of funds, alleging political bias in resource distribution. He noted that despite rising budget sizes, the city still grapples with pending infrastructure projects, chronic traffic jams, and lack of basic amenities. “The city has received thousands of crores, but concrete improvements are still not forthcoming,” Kumbhar further noted.
The PMC’s 2025-26 plans are majorly centered on infrastructure development and solving urban mobility problems, with the aim of promoting sustainable growth without imposing new taxes on residents.