LMC likely to revise proposed ₹4,236.63 cr budget

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has started efforts to see if its proposed ₹4,236.63 crore budget for 2025-26 can be revised following a week-long boycott by executive committee members.

Senior officials confirmed that LMC officials began working on amendments on Thursday, focusing on city development projects.

Mayor Sushma Kharakwal said the next executive committee meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2025, with all committee members expected to attend. “Once the budget proposal is approved by the executive committee, it will be sent to the LMC house for final approval,” an LMC official said.

Another LMC official indicated that the revised budget may include an increase in the ward development fund after corporators raised concerns that the current ₹1.47 crore (including GST) per ward was insufficient.

A corporator pointed out that waste disposal costs were putting financial pressure on LMC. “At the rate of ₹574 per metric ton, the disposal of 2,500 metric tons of legacy waste daily would cost ₹14.35 lakh per day and ₹52.37 crore annually. Similarly, fresh waste disposal would cost ₹23.5 lakh per day and ₹85.77 crore annually,” the corporator explained. Corporators expressed concern that such high expenses, without thorough discussions, would place an excessive financial burden on LMC, which relies primarily on tax revenue.

Earlier, the protesting corporators alleged that this pricing disproportionately benefits private waste management firms.

The budget discussions were delayed after eight BJP and two Samajwadi Party members boycotted meetings, causing multiple postponements. The committee was initially scheduled to discuss the budget on March 10, but the meeting was deferred until after Holi. A rescheduled meeting on March 18 was cancelled again due to the ongoing boycott.

Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Inderjit Singh said the revised budget would prioritise city development work.