September 23, 2025: Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body, has seen its fixed deposits (FDs) shrink as funds are increasingly diverted towards large-scale infrastructure projects. Data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) reveals that BMC’s FDs, which rose steadily for over a decade—from Rs 43,285 crore in 2014-15 to a peak of Rs 91,690 crore in 2021-22—have now dipped to Rs 79,498 crore in 2024-25, a decline of Rs 12,192 crore in just three years.
Advocate and activist Godfrey Pimenta of NGO Watchdog Foundation, who filed the RTI, said, “These deposits are spread across many banks, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, State Bank of India, Central Bank of India, and others.” Officials explained that withdrawals were directed towards projects such as the Coastal Road (South), upgrades of sewerage treatment plants, and city-wide road concretisation. Additional allocations were made to agencies such as MMRDA and BEST, with several FDs being liquidated to support subsidies and project mobilizations.
For instance, an FD of Rs 949 crore with SBI was liquidated in March 2024 for MMRDA. RTI data also showed withdrawals of Rs 250 crore, Rs 113 crore, and Rs 115 crore in 2019, as well as another Rs 279 crore in 2023, to fund BEST subsidies.
Experts, however, urged caution. Milind Mhaske, CEO of NGO Praja, noted, “This data needs to be seen in multiple ways. First, while the municipal corporation must maintain reserves for emergencies, the extent of these needs careful assessment. Second, locking up large sums in FDs serves little purpose; it would be more prudent to channel these funds into public works.”
Former municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar also warned that reserves could deplete rapidly if spending continues unchecked. With liabilities nearing ₹2 lakh crore, reserves earmarked for infrastructure currently stand at Rs 39,544 crore—far short of future obligations.
Source: The Times of India
