BMC Budget 2025: What Mumbai wants from the civic body

Ahead of the presentation of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC Budget midday spoke to residents and activists across the cityrsquos seven civic zones to gauge their priorities and expectations In 2024 the civic body presented a budget of Rs 5995475 crore This year it is expected to cross the Rs 65000crore markMumbaikars demanded that funds be allocated to improve civic infrastructure and deal with the hawker menace to make the city more pedestrianfriendly Mentioning the awful traffic congestion witnessed across the city these days one resident pointed out that 250 roads mentioned in the Development Plan several years ago were yet to be constructedArthur Menezes Borivli West residentProfession businessmanExpectationsgtgt The concreting of roads should be expedited in order to ensure that citizens are not inconveniencedgtgt The hawker menace in the suburbs should be dealt with promptly to ensure footpaths and roads are cleared for pedestrians and vehiclesgtgt The problem of illegal slums must be addressed as they drain the resources of wardsShaheen Desai Thakur Village Kandivli residentProfession ActivistExpectationsgtgt We are constantly dug up and garbage accumulation is a major issue The accumulated trash leads to waterlogging during the rainy season Laws should be introduced to curb noise pollution The BMC should also introduce antisingleuseplastic measuresDhaval Shah Andheri West residentProfession BusinessmanExpectationsgtgt The fire station at Chitrakoot grounds in Andheri West should be completed on a war footing The Development Plan DP was made in 1991 but the fire station has not been constructedgtgt Timelines for completing bridges and roads should be strictly adhered to so that people do not face issuesgtgt Stricter norms should be put in place so that haphazard construction and demolition are brought under control to mitigate air pollutionSachin Manjrekar resident of Pantnagar GhatkoparProfession BusinessmanExpectationsgtgt The dumping ground here stinks terribly contributing to air pollution This issue should be tackled on a war footinggtgt Collection and segregation of dry garbage should be done properlygtgt Illegal extensions of shops on footpaths should be demolished to make areas more pedestrianfriendlyMadhura Tawde resident of Ghatkopar WestProfession AdvocateExpectationsgtgt Protecting mangroves should be the topmost priority for the civic body and more funds must be allocated for this purposeJitendra Gupta Kurla residentProfession BusinessmanExpectationsgtgt Complete the concreting of city roads quicklygtgt Twenty years have passed since the plan to drain and beautify the Mithi river was made but no action has been takengtgt There should be permanent designated zones for hawkers so that they do not encroach upon roads and footpaths All municipal markets should also be upgradedNikhil Desai resident of Kingrsquos Circle MatungaProfession Retired engineerExpectationsgtgt BEST bus frequency should be increasedgtgt Longpending issues like dumping sewage water in the sea need to be taken up on prioritygtgt BMC hospital and school infrastructure should be improvedAshok Gupta Marine Drive residentProfession Landlord of a building in Marine LinesExpectationsgtgt Footpaths and roads that are in bad shape need to be repairedgtgt The drainage system needs to be rectified on a war footing as sewage is being dumped directly into the oceanExpectationsgtgt The BMC must focus on health clean air transport and schools instead of spending funds wastefullygtgt Upgrade municipal hospitals improve waste management and control diseases like dengue and malaria through regular fumigationgtgt Upgrading BMC school infrastructure to ensure better learning environments for our childrenlsquoAll civic facilities need to be upgraded on war footingrsquoldquoMunicipal markets should be upgraded for the convenience of residents Health and education infrastructure should be improved The infrastructure of civicrun schools needs to be much better to be at the level of private schoolsrdquoSanjay Gurav South Mumbai residentldquoThere are 250 DP roads which have still not been constructed in Mumbai causing a major traffic problem These roads should be allocated funds and constructed so that traffic congestion is relievedrdquoGopal Javeri Borivli residentRs 5995475crValue of the BMCrsquos budget for 202425