Delhi's MCD proposes major spending on sanitation, education in 2026-27 budget

NEw new new delhi: The Municipal corp of Delhi (MCD) finalised an estimated budget expenditure of ₹17,583 crore for the 2026-27 financial twelvemonth in a special get together on Friday, officials aware of the matter said, while the income has been pegged at around ₹18,000 crore, officials aware of the matter said.Under the budget, claimed by Delhi mayor Raja Iqbal Singh as the corporation’s “largest ever”, the biggest share was allotted to sanitation, at ₹4,797.78 crore, followed by an allotment of ₹3,548.63 crore to general administration, and ₹3,264.84 crore to education. An allotment of ₹1,925.6 crore has been made for public health and medical relief, followed by ₹1,884.43 crore for engineering. The horticulture department has been given ₹414.16 crore, while the veterinary department has been given ₹137 crore. The budget also takes into account complete exemption of property tax to residential ancestral houses up to 500 square metres in 49 “fully rural” villages and residential buildings up to 200 square metres owned by “original” residents in urban villages. There is also a 15% property tax exemption to group housing societies for paying tax on time—this was previously discontinued, but has been reinstated.Under another initiative, municipal councillors will be able to avail of cashless medical treatment at CGHS rates at empanelled hospitals, and MCD employees and pensioners residing outside Delhi will be able to receive treatment at CGHS hospitals across the country. A cashless hospital treatment scheme for corporation officers and employees was approved, to avail of free treatment at empanelled health centres. The MCD will also be dedicating 250 new Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to the public, in partnership with the Delhi government.Under support for women, financial assistance of ₹21,000 will be given to 15 widows, single mothers, and disabled people in each ward, for the marriage of their daughters.The budget includes multiple provisions for financial assistance to residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), with 20 RWAs in each ward set to receive ₹25,000 for repair and maintenance works. In his speech, leader of the house Pravesh Wahi said that the funding amount given to RWAs and NGOs for park maintenance has been increased from ₹8,000 to ₹13,500.Under sanitation and waste management, the corporation will be procuring 70 new mechanical road sweeping machines, and 1,000 litter picker machines, with four being deployed in each ward.The corporation allocated ₹22 crore for the repair and maintenance of municipal schools. Wahi said that they also plan to increase the accident insurance amount for municipal students from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh.Wahi said that the Bhalswa and Okhla landfill sites will be cleared by the end of the year, with the MCD aiming to clear the Ghazipur landfill by the end of 2027. “This budget will play a significant role in making Delhi clean, empowered, and prosperous. I thank leader of the house Pravesh Wahi for presenting a public welfare–oriented and development-focused budget,” the mayor said.