Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to raise Rs2,000 crore

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) will raise funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore as India's richest civic body struggles to overcome a financial crunch created by a projected shortfall in revenue collection and massive expenditure on projects.

"MCGM is exploring ways to raise around Rs2,000 crore through internal loans and also by ways of bonds and fixed deposits lying with the banks," municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya told PTI.

"We have written to the State Government seeking permission to raise internal loans and hope to get a reply soon," he said. The corporation, which has an annual budget of over Rs15,000 crore - more than some of the small states - is likely to face a drop of about Rs600 crore in collection from octroi, one of its key revenue streams, in the current financial year.

One of the main reasons of the financial crunch is possible dip in octroi collection of around Rs600 crore, the municipal chief said.

The civic body is trying to find out reasons behind the drop by around 10-15 per cent of an estimated octroi collection of Rs 4,300 crore in the current fiscal, he said.