Most of the activities listed in the budget are old BMC plans; environmentalists are sceptical of impact

Jumping on the World Environment Day bandwagon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday put their money where their mouth is, announcing a ₹17,000-crore "climate budget" for the city.

- Sabah Virani and Shreya Jachak

The civic body claimed that 37% of its capital expenditure budget will go towards "climate-allied" activities. These include a wide range of things, from the biomining of the Deonar dumping ground to electric buses for BEST and solar panels, along with the construction of toilets, water infrastructure, markets, homes for project-affected people (PAP), and new fire brigade stations, among others.

The BMC has increased its climate budget from last year's ₹10,224.24 crore by including the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) and seven more departments within it. Most of the activities listed in the budget are old BMC plans due to their effect on climate change. In March 2024, the BMC also created a new environment and climate change department.

Claiming that its actions are working, the BMC also released data for greenhouse gas emissions till 2022-23, which showed a decrease from 2019-20 figures, but an increase from the Covid years in between.