Ahmedabad, Feb 10 (IANS) The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Tuesday approved a revised budget of Rs 18,518 crore for the 2026-27 financial year, an increase of Rs 1,500 crore over the draft estimate of Rs 17,018 crore presented earlier by the Municipal Commissioner.
The revised budget was tabled by Standing Committee chairman Devang Dani and cleared by the civic body, bringing the annual budgetary exercise to a close without dispute following the withdrawal of a proposed slaughterhouse project in the Gyaspur area.
Civic officials said the revised estimates were prepared after taking public feedback into account, with priority given to basic civic services, infrastructure development, sustainability, urban mobility, heritage conservation and citizen-focused governance.
Of the total budget, Rs 11,082.85 crore has been allocated for development works across the city.
Mayor Pratibha Jain said the corporation had approved its largest-ever budget with a strong emphasis on residents’ requirements. “AMC has cleared a record budget of over Rs 18,500 crore, which is primarily people-centric. The city is surpassing several earlier development benchmarks and is also preparing itself for future global events,” she told reporters after the meeting.
Traffic management and decongestion feature prominently in the revised budget. Key proposals include a restricted-height underpass near the Tragad crossing in Chandlodia ward, a flyover from the Danilimda intersection to Khodiyarnagar, and an underpass at the Thaltej crossroads, covering the stretch between Divya Jyot School and Shilaj.
Additional underpasses have been proposed near Town Planning schemes 72 and 233 in Chandlodia. A provision of Rs 50 crore has been made for constructing new underpasses, underbridges and overbridges at major junctions to ease vehicular movement.
In the health sector, the budget allocates Rs 50 crore for establishing a Medical Institute and Super-Speciality Hospital in Nikol ward. To address recurring monsoon-related flooding, Rs 115 crore has been set aside for the rehabilitation of the city’s stormwater and drainage network.
The budget also includes tax relief measures, with the rebate for advance property taxpayers increased from 10 per cent to 12 per cent for those who have paid in advance for the past three years.
Online property taxpayers will continue to receive a 15 per cent rebate. Environmental and recreational initiatives include a World Park-themed garden in the North West Zone for Rs 10 crore, a bonsai garden estimated at Rs five crore, yoga centres with trained coaches in 100 AMC gardens, one women’s gym in each zone, and the establishment of a dog shelter within municipal limits.
The road connecting the YMCA Club to the S.P. Ring Road is proposed to be developed under a public-private partnership model.
The revised budget also provides for a marginal increase in the special discretionary allocations for AMC committee chairpersons and deputy chairpersons.
–IANS
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