Majority of Mumbaikars ignorant of BMC budget size, corporators’ funds

A survey reveals 72% of Mumbaikars are unaware of BMC's budget, highlighting a lack of civic engagement and issues with local governance.

MUMBAI: A comprehensive citywide survey has found that a majority of Mumbaikars do not know how the BMC, the country’s richest municipal body, functions, with 72% unaware of its annual budget and 35% unsure how to contact it. Interestingly, the lack of awareness on some counts was across wards, with 83% of citizens in plush Bandra West and 87% in the Dharavi slum being equally ignorant on the civic budget and over 89% and 93% respectively unaware of the Local Area Development Funds allotted to corporators.

Majority of Mumbaikars ignorant of BMC budget size, corporators’ funds

The Mumbai Speaks survey, conducted by the Mumbai Citizens Forum (MCF) with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), covered all 227 civic wards and gathered responses from 5,450 residents between January and August 2023, including 37.5% from slum areas.

“We went ward by ward and asked people basic questions such as who their corporator was and how contacted them,” said Zohair Diwan, head of MCF. “In many places, people simply did not know. Others said nothing happens even after complaints. There is no direct touchpoint between citizens and authorities.”

Nearly half the respondents (47.6%) thus questioned said they had tried to resolve a local civic issue by approaching the authorities or using official complaint mechanisms. However, only 57.4% reported full or partial resolution, with many citing difficulty in reaching corporators, ward officials or navigating grievance systems.

Water supply emerged as the most frequently flagged issue citywide, drawing 3,339 responses, followed by sanitation (2,583) and solid waste management (2,340). Clean air (2,129) and potholes completed the top five concerns, while noise pollution, housing, employment, commuting and neighbourhood safety also featured across wards.

Ward-level findings show sharp variations. In Bandra West, sanitation, potholes and noise pollution topped concerns, followed by water supply and clean air, with hawkers, parking and footpath encroachments recurring. In Dharavi, solid waste management and sanitation dominated, along with housing, employment and air quality, reflecting the pressures of dense slum settlements.

Attempts to resolve issues also varied. In Bandra West, 72.3% respondents said they had raised civic problems, most commonly by contacting corporators, MLAs or MPs, followed by citizen groups and ward offices. In Dharavi, only 52.2% attempted to resolve issues, largely through ward offices, with 82% saying complaints were not resolved.

Dr Kedar Diwan, trustee of MCF and survey coordinator, said that Mumbai was still struggling with the basics. “We are still at the level of basic urban amenities such as water, sanitation and waste, which is worrying for a city like Mumbai,” he said, adding that even aware citizens were unable to take issues forward due to inaccessible systems and missing representation.

The survey also found that around 70% of respondents were unaware of ward committees or prabhag samitis, while nearly 75% did not know about the Local Area Development Fund. Despite this, the intent to engage remains high: while 88.7% said they wanted to participate in local decision-making, 72.5% said they planned to vote in the upcoming BMC elections.

Mario Fishery, technology advisor and trustee of MCF, said the absence of a unified complaint and accountability system was among the most alarming findings. “Our vision is to have one reporting system like calling 100 or 1916 with accountability after a complaint is lodged and real local participation in decision-making with corporators and MLAs,” he said.

MCF said it planned to take the findings to prospective corporators ahead of the elections, pushing for the activation of area sabhas and ward committees. “We will place this data before every would-be corporator,” Zohair Diwan said. “People’s voices are missing today, and that has to change.”

Based on the survey, MCF has also recommended mandatory activation and monitoring of these bodies across all wards, transparent use of civic funds and direct citizen representation.

“The question is how we make governance more inclusive and participatory when individual citizens clearly want to be active participants,” said Prof Manjula Bharathy from the School of Habitat Studies, TISS, and research lead of the study. “The survey shows strong aspirations among women to engage more meaningfully, pointing to the need for safer, gender-sensitive civic spaces. It also highlights the importance of involving slum-based groups, while younger citizens remain largely disconnected from formal civic platforms and educational institutions. We need to create model spaces for participation where academics, practitioners and citizen advocates can come together. This is where institutions like TISS can play a critical role in bridging citizens and governance.”