The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s budget for 2026-27 allocated maximum funds for solid waste management and water supply.

Although an annual exercise, the 2026–27 budget was special as Assembly polls are due in a few weeks and civic polls are scheduled by year-end.

In his budget statement, mayor Firhad Hakim stressed the need to cut down on non-plan expenditure. Hakim also highlighted the need to use more government grants and less of the KMC’s own funds.

The estimate for the year 2026-27 for solid waste management is ₹744.47 crore, while that for water supply is ₹465.79 crore. (See chart)

“We are determined to reduce the extraction of groundwater in the city through substitution by means of filtered water,” Hakim’s budget speech read.

Supply of potable water, or any disruptions in supply, is a sensitive issue and more so in an election year.

In December 2024, Hakim had promised that the water treatment plant near Briji, along EM Bypass, would be ready by the summer of 2026. KMC sources said they
were still hopeful of having it commissioned by this
summer.

Water produced at the 10 million-gallons-a-day (MGD) capacity plant will serve parts of Garia and Tollygunge.

The KMC is also augmenting the capacity of the water treatment plant in Dhapa, increasing its 30 million-gallons-a-day capacity by another 20 MGD.

About 124km of new pipeline network is being laid to supply the water produced in these two plants.

KMC sources said solid waste management in a city as large as Calcutta needed a lot of funds. “The day-to-day work itself needs a lot of funds,” said a KMC official.

About 18.25 lakh tonnes of waste were disposed of in the Dhapa landfill site last year, the budget speech mentioned.

“Recycling and reuse is the way forward,” said a KMC official.

The third highest allocation was for roads.

The allocation for roads in this budget was ₹334.30 crore.

“Hakim has in internal meetings repeatedly spoken out against the undulating and bumpy condition of Calcutta’s roads. He is very keen to flatten the roads,” said an official.

KMC sources said the stress was on using government funds because the KMC’s own funds were already stretched.

“The KMC’s own revenue fund is used for fixed expenses like salaries, pension and establishment costs. Funds from the government are important to carry out development work,” said an official.

“There have also been instances when the state government took back some of the grant because we could not utilise it on time.”