BMC’s climate budget pie for air pollution shrinks, funds Rs 11 crore less than last year

3 min readMumbaiJun 18, 2026 11:06 PM IST

Dust billows out of a construction site of a building situated beside the Western Railway tracks, at Borivali in Mumbai. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday announced its annual climate budget for the financial year 2026-27. The climate budget focuses on environmental sustainability and climate change through initiatives such as urban greening, water resource management and the adoption of clean energy.

However, the document also shows that the allocation for air pollution management is lower than in the previous financial year.

According to the budget document, the civic body has allocated Rs 20,730 crore, or 43 per cent of its total capital expenditure (Capex), towards climate-related initiatives this year. Last year, the BMC had earmarked Rs 16,321 crore, or 37 per cent of its Capex, for its climate budget. This is the third consecutive year that the BMC has presented a climate budget. In FY 2024-25, it had allocated Rs 10,224 crore, accounting for 32 per cent of its overall Capex.

In February, the BMC announced an annual budget of Rs 80,952 crore for FY 2026-27, of which Rs 48,164 crore, or 59.49 per cent, was earmarked as Capex.

Of this year’s climate budget, the largest share — Rs 18,080 crore, or 87.21 per cent — has been allocated for water resource management and urban flood mitigation. This is followed by Rs 1,369 crore for urban greening, Rs 968.15 crore for sustainable waste management, and Rs 156.67 crore for transitioning existing buildings to clean energy. The document also states that Rs 65 crore will be spent on integrated mobility.

Furthermore, the budget document shows that this year, the BMC had allocated Rs 90.85 crore for tackling air pollution, which is 0.44 per cent of the total capital expenditure. Last year, the BMC had allocated Rs 102 crore for air quality management, which was 0.60% of the total climate budget.

“While the highest allocation has been towards the Urban Flooding and Water Resource Management sector, allocations for the Urban Greening and Biodiversity and Air Quality Management sectors have also increased notably compared to FY 2025-26. The prominence of the Urban Flooding and Water Resource Management sector reflects its alignment with the BMC’s core urban service delivery mandate, which includes water supply, sanitation, sewage and wastewater management, and stormwater management,” the document states.

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“This budget spans six key action tracks: building flood-resilient infrastructure; promoting localised water conservation and efficiency; reducing pollution and ensuring affordable drinking water; ensuring access to clean, safe toilets; and mitigating disaster risks and impacts,” it adds.

The civic body also noted that sectors such as energy transition and grid decarbonisation largely fall outside its jurisdiction and therefore offer limited scope for intervention under the current governance structure.