FIVE-POINT AGENDA FOR MAHARASHTRA’S TRIPLE-ENGINE CITIES

DEJAVU can be both fascinating and frustrating.

- SHANKKAR AIYAR

In 1987, I wrote a cover story on the state of the then Bombay Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) services and finances.The corporation had spent 64 paise of every rupee—nearly two-thirds—on itself, leaving little for the city’s improvement after covering contingencies. The story in other cities was not dissimilar, often worse. Those in power had little inclination to invest in cities’ future.

Nearly four decades later, the sloganeering for the 2026 municipal polls revealed little has changed. Today’s BMC—in which Bombay has been replaced by Brihanmumbai—is the richest municipal corporation in India. Its budget of %74,427 crore is twice that of Goa, and larger than that of nine states. The pie chart on how much is spent on what shows the spending on salaries and administration is lower, but the quality of spending seems worse. The city is filthier, potholes define the contours of the roads, the curse of water shortage is visible every dawn and dusk as tankers careen down streets blaring power horns, the air quality is worse, flooding is perennial and primary health services are worse. The picture in other cities is equally bad.

This week, the BJP and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis established their dominance across urban Maharashtra, sweeping elections in every major city—Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur—and ending the day with a tally of 25 out of 29 municipal corporations. The Thackeray cousins have retained relevance and survived to fight another day. The big losers are Ajit Pawar, who tied up with Sharad Pawar and fought against the BJP, and Eknath Shinde, who tied up with BJP but finds his footprint shrinking on his home turf.