The Mumbai civic budget was presented yesterday, and as expected, saw a rise in the overall outlay. The current year’s estimate stands at Rs 33,514 crore as compared to Rs 31,178 crore the previous year.

But that is not the operative part. The richest civic body in India (its budget is bigger than the budgets of entire states in many cases) has spent only 30 per cent of its budgeted expenditure until December 31, 2014. This is not only shocking, it is a joke that the BMC is playing on the city.