Can we get a budget for Bengaluru?

Bengaluru entered a new era of city governance in 2025, with the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five city corporations being born out of the 18-year-old Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The Karnataka Budget highlighted the same and spoke about making Bengaluru the world's most liveable city, while outlining several large projects undertaken in 2025-26.Karnataka will spend nearly Rs 4.5 trillion in the coming fiscal, amounting to about Rs 60,900 per person. BBMP last year budgeted a more modest Rs 199 billion — about Rs 13,500 per person. Of course, beyond BBMP, the BWSSB, Bescom, BDA, BMRDA, state and traffic police, and others spend money for the city of Bengaluru — but it remains a mystery to Bengalureans how public resources are being used for the city, and for what purposes. The state budget only provides a few clues. Overall, the urban water supply and sanitation budget in the state fell by 9.7% this year, compared to last year's revised estimates. The rest of the urban development budget also shrank by 2.7% compared with the last revised estimates — not counting the State Finance Commission and the 16th Finance Commission's allocations for cities.
Reading the budget lines for specific allocations to Bengaluru, funds for ‘Capital Support to Special Infrastructure Projects of Bengaluru' have stayed flat at Rs 3,000 crore per year over the past three years. Support to BMTC has seen the highest increase — 66% over the last fiscal, amounting to Rs 807 crore — with the increase likely for the expansion and electrification of the bus fleet and bus depots.The budget lines give us these precious few details, and the budget speech mentions a few more — including how city corporations in Bengaluru can avail municipal bonds, or how the city will have a Revised Master Plan and a Comprehensive Mobility Plan in place by the end of 2027.For Bengaluru's residents to feel confident that we have truly entered a new era of the megacity's governance, we need to see transparent budgets for GBA, the five city corporations, and the city's service delivery agencies, over the next few weeks. We need to see how each of the city administrations is faring in collecting its own revenue, and how much support they will receive from the state and Union govts. For example, we need to see how the Rs 1,225 crore spent this year on ward-level roads and infrastructure has benefited the 369 new wards in the city. We need to understand which wards have spent what amounts, and whether the city's outer wards are able to catch up to their infrastructure deficits.The new Bengaluru's dynamic administrators have a unique opportunity to build common cause with the citizens for the transformation of the city. This can start with the city's budgets and openness.— The writer is a researcher with WELL Labs, a water systems transformation organisation based in Bengaluru. Views are personal.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !