Chandigarh, October 11 — Despite grappling with a persistent fiscal crunch, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) registered a 25% increase in its own revenue collections during the first half of the 2025-26 fiscal year. Between April and September, the civic body collected ₹223.42 crore from sources including taxes, bills, and bookings, compared to ₹179.41 crore during the same period last year.
MC Commissioner Amit Kumar on Friday credited the growth to “sustained and strategic efforts aimed at boosting revenue generation.” He explained, “The increase is a result of measures such as streamlining tax collection systems, adopting digital payment platforms, and strict monitoring of key revenue sources such as property tax, water charges, user charges, and other municipal levies.”
The MC, which relies heavily on grant-in-aid from the UT administration alongside its own receipts, has long faced financial instability. Grants sanctioned by the administration have consistently fallen short of the MC’s requirements, forcing the civic body to contend with rising liabilities and a widening budget deficit.
For the current fiscal year, the MC had approved a budget of ₹2,114 crore, largely dependent on allocations under the Centre’s fourth Delhi Finance Commission (DFC) recommendations. However, only ₹625 crore was sanctioned as a regular grant, while the MC projected ₹410 crore from its own sources. An additional ₹125 crore provided later by the Centre brought total receipts to around ₹1,160 crore — barely half of the approved budget.
Despite the funding shortfall, the MC has shown significant gains across multiple revenue streams. By September 30, the civic body collected ₹100 crore from garbage collection and water bills, up from ₹87 crore during the same period last year.
Kumar highlighted citizen-focused initiatives as another key factor in the improved collections. “Online facilities, awareness drives, and transparent governance practices have empowered citizens and commercial establishments to make timely payments,” he said. These measures, combined with stricter monitoring, have helped curb revenue leakages and expand the overall revenue base.
The surge in revenue is also being attributed to the revision of property tax rates this fiscal year. Residential property tax was doubled to 6% of the Annual Rateable Value (ARV), up from 3%, while rates for commercial and industrial properties were revised to 5% of ARV from the previous 3%.
To complement these efforts, the MC plans to reduce its annual expenditure by nearly ₹50 crore this fiscal year through a series of cost-cutting measures. These are aimed at improving operational efficiency, curbing wasteful spending, and freeing up funds for long-pending development projects that have been stalled since May last year.
Officials said the combined approach of revenue enhancement and expenditure control positions the MC to better manage its finances, while also ensuring continued delivery of civic services to residents.
