Nashik civic body seeks higher GST grant from state amid financial crunch

Nashik: Facing a financial crunch amid rapid urban expansion and rising development costs, the civic body has approached state govt seeking an increase in its Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation grant, urging that the annual hike be raised from 8% to 15%.State govt has, in turn, asked Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) to furnish details of its revenue earnings from the earlier octroi and later Local Body Tax (LBT) regimes, which were subsumed under GST in 2016–17.Currently, NMC receives a monthly GST grant with an 8% annual increase. In 2025–26, the civic body received Rs 124.8 crore per month, totalling Rs 1,497 crore for the year. With the routine hike, the monthly grant is expected to rise to Rs 134.8 crore in 2026–27. However, the corporation is yet to receive the April and May instalments for the current financial year.Officials said the existing grant is insufficient to meet the city's growing infrastructure demands. "The revenue we receive through the GST grant from state govt every month is inadequate considering the rapid expansion of the city and the developmental works required. Nashik Municipal Corporation is already facing a financial crunch. The newly elected corporators have submitted various development proposals worth Rs 10,000 crore to the civic administration, but we could make a financial provision of only around Rs 100 crore, including ward development funds and corporators' funds, in the budget of the municipal corporation for the current financial year (2026-27)," said a senior NMC official.The strain is particularly visible in road infrastructure. The city has a road network of around 2,500km, including arterial and internal roads, of which 1,600km are tar roads. "Tar roads are expected to be re-laid every three years, but around 70% of the roads have not been relaid for over a decade due to a lack of funds," the official said.At present, the civic body is undertaking development of 118km of key roads linked to the upcoming Kumbh Mela at a cost of Rs 1,270 crore, funded through the Kumbh Mela Authority. Despite this, the backlog of maintenance remains significant. "We will need around Rs 1,000 crore to relay 70% of the roads in the city," the official added.Reiterating the demand, the official said, "We need an adequate GST grant from state govt, and the annual increase should be at least 15%. We have requested state govt accordingly. It has sought details of the civic body's revenue from octroi and LBT over the past 15 years."