Bhopal and Indore, two prominent cities in Madhya Pradesh, have recently presented their respective budgets for the fiscal year 2025-26, with both municipalities outlining ambitious plans for development, though with differing approaches and fiscal outlooks. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced a budget of Rs 3611.79 crore, marking an increase of nearly Rs 300 crore from the previous year. This new budget, however, comes with a significant projected deficit of Rs 110.07 crore after reserving 5 percent of the projected income. To counterbalance this, the municipal corporation has proposed a 10 percent increase in property tax and a 15 percent rise in consumer charges, including water rates, sewerage fees, and solid waste management charges.
The budget presentation, led by the Mayor of Bhopal, highlighted the municipality’s focus on women’s empowerment, infrastructural development, and employee welfare within the city. Plans to enhance public amenities, including the construction of immersion ghats, convention centres, and city gates, were also unveiled. However, the proposed increases in property tax and water charges have been met with strong opposition from critics, including the Leader of the Opposition, who labelled the budget as a deficit-driven proposal that lacked transparency. The opposition further questioned the status of unutilised funds from previous budgets, accusing the corporation of mismanaging the funds, and called for the reversal of the proposed tax hikes.
In contrast, Indore’s Municipal Corporation presented a more optimistic budget of approximately Rs 8174 crore for the same fiscal year. The focus here was on fostering development without increasing taxes, a strategy the Mayor believes will spur the city’s progress. A key feature of Indore’s budget includes a provision for a new app aimed at improving garbage collection services, inspired by food delivery applications. The Mayor of Indore stressed that this initiative, along with other development projects, would cater to the evolving needs of the citizens and improve the overall infrastructure of the city.
Indore’s approach of presenting a balanced budget without raising taxes stands in stark contrast to Bhopal’s strategy, which involves leveraging increased taxes for development projects. Both cities, however, share a common goal of urban development and citizen welfare. Bhopal’s budget places a premium on creating localised development through the increase in ward-specific planning funds, where property tax collected from a ward will be reinvested back into that area. This decentralised approach is aimed at ensuring that the benefits of higher taxes are felt directly by residents.
The opposition in Bhopal has argued that such tax increases could burden already struggling citizens, particularly those in lower-income groups who may find it challenging to meet higher water and property tax charges. The critics have also raised concerns over the lack of clarity regarding the unspent funds from previous budgets, pointing out that the city’s finances remain opaque. The call for accountability and fiscal transparency remains a dominant theme in the discourse surrounding Bhopal’s budget presentation.
Both cities are grappling with the challenge of balancing development with fiscal responsibility. While Bhopal appears to be banking on increased revenue through higher taxes to fund its ambitious plans, Indore’s focus on growth without additional taxation has made its budget presentation more palatable to the public, although it too has faced scrutiny over the sustainability of its development plans. As both cities move forward with their respective agendas, it remains to be seen how these proposals will resonate with citizens and whether they will result in the desired urban transformation.
Indore and Bhopal Present Bold Budget Proposals
