No new taxes in Rs 5,438 crore NMC budget, to focus of efficient recovery

Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) commissioner and administrator Abhijeet Chaudhari presented a Rs 5,438.61 crore budget for 2025-26 — slightly lower than the historic Rs 5,565 crore budget tabled in the last financial year. The 2025-26 budget projects have a revenue surplus of Rs 39.56 crore. The revised budget for 2024-25 fiscal was also trimmed by Rs 262.62 crore, bringing it down to Rs 5,302.45 crore.
Chaudhari opted against levying any new taxes or revenue streams. Instead, the administration plans to focus on efficient tax recovery to achieve revenue targets.
The NMC is carrying forward Rs 698.97 crore unspent funds from the current fiscal as the opening balance for 2025-26. The total income is estimated at Rs 5,438.61 crore, including an expected Rs 4,739.74 crore revenue. The projected expenditure is Rs 5,399.05 crore — earmarking Rs 2,364.14 crore for revenue expenses and Rs 2,872.33 crore for capital expenditure. With Nagpur's population estimated at 29,40,437, the budget shows that the civic body would spend an average Rs18,361 per citizen over the next year.
Of the Rs 4,739.74 crore revenue, NMC's own sources will account for Rs 3,572.20 crore while Rs 1,167.54 crore will be in form of govt grants. Chaudhari highlighted that the property tax department remains the NMC's primary income source. To boost revenue, the administration plans to bring more properties under the tax net. In the current fiscal year alone, 11,063 new properties were added, generating an additional Rs 4.52 crore. The NMC will use GIS mapping to include all new and existing properties under the tax system.
Chaudhari stated that this year, NMC will focus on reassessing old properties that underwent renovations but were not updated in tax records. The reassessments are expected to significantly increase revenue. The civic body is also intensifying efforts to boost revenue by regulating sky signs and shop boards under the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1948. The NMC aims to generate Rs 9.06 crore from advertisement permits in 2025-26 and is framing a policy to levy fees on shop boards displaying business names, products, and services. Under Section 244 of the Act, displaying advertisements in NMC's jurisdiction requires a permit.
To streamline the regulation process, NMC introduced Hoarding Information Management (HIM) software, which digitally monitors both private and NMC-owned properties with sky signs and facilitates online permissions for advertisers. To curb unauthorised hoardings, NMC is using Laser Distance Measurement Instruments, drones, and mobile app-based inspections. An appointed agency is carrying out these verifications. Additionally, in compliance with a high court order, all 974 authorised hoardings now feature QR codes for easy identification, helping officials distinguish legal from illegal displays.
The civic body is also focusing on increasing revenue from municipal properties. To improve collection efficiency, property tax bills are being sent via speed post and 2,82,955 bills have been dispatched so far. The budget allocates Rs 94 crore for road repairs and various infrastructure projects. To expedite road repairs, NMC will deploy newly acquired machines worth Rs 1.80 crore starting in April. Furthermore, Rs 60 crore has been earmarked for slum area infrastructure development.
For the past three years, NMC introduced an amnesty scheme that waived interest and penalties on overdue property tax payments. However, Chaudhari clarified that despite the scheme, many property owners continued to default, adding to mounting tax arrears. Consequently, NMC will not offer another amnesty scheme and will instead focus on stricter recovery mechanisms.
Among NMC's key revenue-generating departments — including property tax, market, town planning, and water supply — the town planning department performed exceptionally well. It generated Rs 467.10 crore in 2024-25, surpassing expectations. As a result, its target for the next fiscal year has been raised to Rs 500 crore. Since no property tax hike was proposed, the target for the property tax department is set at Rs 350 crore, while the water supply department has been assigned a Rs 250 crore goal.
The state govt is expected to allocate Rs 1,772 crore under goods and services tax in 2025-26, reflecting an 8% annual growth from the Rs 1,640.74 crore received in the current fiscal year. Additionally, Rs 70 crore is targeted from stamp duty collection. The market department has been given a Rs 15.01 crore goal, while revenue from hoardings and other internal sources is expected to generate Rs 9 crore.