BMC’s fixed deposits have grown by 18 per cent

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had Rs 26,876 crore in FDs at the end of the financial year 2011-12, 10 years ago. File pic

The BMC has become rich in the Covid-19 period due to record break income through premiums. The fund in fixed deposit increased from Rs 78,000 crore to Rs 92,000 crore, an 18 per cent rise in just 10 months. The FDs were almost stagnant in the previous three years.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had Rs 26,876 crore in FDs at the end of the financial year 2011-12, 10 years ago. The FD increased Rs 72,000 crore, a three-fold rise within six years, but after that the saving amount remained almost stagnant, due to two main reasons - dwindling income sources like property tax, premium through development work and corporation initiated big ticket projects like construction of roads, bridges, coastal road etc.

The FD reported negative growth last financial year (2020-21) as the income shrunk and spending enlarged due to the pandemic. The amount was reduced by around Rs 450 crore, for the first time in a decade. But this year, the FD amount grew to Rs 87,131 crore by December-end. In January, Rs 5,504 crore was added to the kitty to take a total FDs beyond Rs 92,000 by the end of month. With only two months remaining of this financial year, the FDs registered an 18 per cent growth.

It is due to the exorbitant income through building premiums. The BMC estimated Rs 27,811 crore income in 2021-22, including Rs 2,000 crore from the development plan. But as the state government curtailed the premium by 50 per cent, the BMC received a whopping Rs 13,543 crore till January and is estimated to get another Rs 1,207 crore in the next two months. This has pushed the estimated income from Rs 27,811 crore to Rs 37,538 crore in this financial year. Though the BMC won the lottery this year, there isn't any constant high yield revenue source for the city in the next year.

Fixed deposits (in crore)
March 2018: Rs 72,000
March 2019: Rs 76,579
March 2020: Rs 79,116
March 2021: Rs 78,745
January 2022: Rs 92,636