Data shows nearly all BMC funds routed to ruling alliance wards since February 2023: Report

In February 2023, the BMC’s elected body of corporators was dissolved at the end of its term in March 2022 and placed under a state-appointed administrator.

• Over 99 percent of BMC funds went to Mahayuti constituencies in past three years
• Opposition MLAs got under 1% of approved civic development funds.
• No funds allotted to Shiv Sena (UBT), 2 Congress, and 1 SP MLA during this period.

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More than 99 per cent of funds allotted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for development work went to wards in constituencies represented by Mahayuti lawmakers in the last three years.

The information was obtained by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. According to the IE report, between February 2023 and October 2025, more than Rs 1,490.66 crore was sanctioned by the BMC for civic development.

Of this total amount, Rs 1,476.92 crore went to areas under MLAs, MLCs and MPs from the ruling alliance of BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Also, BJP lawmakers got Rs 1076.7 crore, followed by those from Shinde’s Sena at Rs 372.7 crore.

Meanwhile, only Rs 13.74 crore, or 0.9 per cent, was granted to the Opposition during this period . It was given to Congress legislator Amin Patel, who represents Mumbadevi, a constituency in South Mumbai with a sizable population of minorities. Meanwhile, all the ten MLAs from the Shiv Sena (UBT), two others from the Congress and one from SP received no funds at all.

Between February 2023 and November 2024, the Mahayuti had 21 MLAs from Mumbai while the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had 15 MLAs.

In February 2023,  the BMC’s elected body of corporators was dissolved at the end of its term in March 2022 and placed under a state-appointed administrator. In the absence of elected corporators, MLAs and MPs were authorised to propose development works for the 227 wards. It was a temporary administrative measure intended to prevent civic paralysis.

According to IE, this imbalance is the continuation of a pattern first reported by in January 2024, when RTI data revealed that the entire Rs 500 crore disbursed in the initial phase of the temporary policy had gone exclusively to ruling-party MLAs.

The policy concentrated the powers to grant funds, based on demands raised by the legislators and parliamentarians, in the hands of  Shiv Sena’s Deepak Kesarkar (city) and BJP’s Mangal Prabhat Lodha (Suburban) from 2023-24; and, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde (City) and BJP’s Ashish Shelar (Suburban) from January this year.

“All fund allocations have been carried out strictly in accordance with BMC norms, and there is no question of any bias," Shelar told IE.