Reading Bangalore's First Five City Corporation Budgets (2026-27) as a Home Buyer
The old BBMP no longer exists as a single body, and each of its five successors has now published a spending plan for the year beginning April 2026. Added up, the plans come to Rs. 20,216 crore for the city of Bangalore. This piece explains where the money is headed, the works that officials named, and the sensible way for a home buyer to use such documents.
Why the City Now Has Five Plans
Until 2025 the BBMP tabled one budget for the entire city. Now the GBA, short for Greater Bengaluru Authority, supervises five corporations, named South, North, West, East and Central, and each drafts on its own. The East and Central plans reached the table on 27 March 2026, while the other three followed a day later.
There is no elected council in the city and none has been seated since 2020, so officials, not councillors, presented all five. Whoever wins the corporation elections will inherit them. Meanwhile the appointed administration chooses which works start first.
The Money in Numbers
OpenCity went through all five books. A year earlier the combined plan was Rs. 19,930 crore, so little has moved. The West leads at Rs. 4,732 crore. After it comes the North, with Rs. 4,341 crore planned.
Each of the remaining three stays below Rs. 4,000 crore. Expected property tax receipts are Rs. 4,378 crore.
Size is no guide to service. With 112 wards, far above any other corporation, the West has to stretch its outlay over many more streets and residents. Territory, population and the pile of pending work all push the totals around.
Roads, Drains and Everything Else
Nearly three-fifths of the combined sum, about 60%, is earmarked for public works: tarmac, rainwater channels and lakes. These decide how well a locality handles traffic and a monsoon downpour. Waste handling is the next biggest line, at 11.4%.
Schooling and the council secretariat each receive under 1%. Parks, health and welfare receive small amounts compared with tarmac and drainage. Citizens waiting for routine services such as waste pick-up or minor local repairs share what is left.
Fee Income From Khatas and FAR
Corporations also say how they will raise cash. Several of them expect fees for regularising B-khata properties as A-khata. The North budgets Rs. 680 crore for it, the West Rs. 563 crore, and Rs. 225 crore each in the East and South. Another source is premium FAR, extra floor area that a builder may purchase, where the West hopes for Rs. 380 crore and the South for Rs. 360 crore.
Since both items feature in the income forecast, the push to collect them will be real this year. B-khata owners get a chance to fix their records, and buyers should check which khata applies before paying, and settle who pays the conversion charge. In the East corporation, 4.5 lakh khatas have been digitised already.
The Gap Between Plan and Spend
Budget lines are intentions. During 2025-26 the Central and West corporations managed to use less than half of what they were allocated. The East and South used roughly 65%, and the North achieved the best rate.
Flagship schemes show the same slippage. In 2024-25 Brand Bengaluru was assigned Rs. 1,627 crore, yet just Rs. 385 crore was used, and the new plans put Rs. 1,822 crore into it. A road that is under construction counts for more than a promise in a speech.
Projects the Corporations Named
Several named works lie where new housing is clustering. All are plans for the year.
South, North and West
The South allots Rs. 60 crore to widen the Begur routes and Subramanyapura Road. In the North, Rs. 25 crore goes to widening twelve stretches of road, and pedestrian paths with skywalks get Rs. 50 crore. In the West, micro-surfacing and general road improvement take Rs. 787 crore, and six hospitals are to be upgraded for Rs. 95.73 crore.
Central
Fresh asphalt is planned for 145 km of arterial roads, and for 115 km on ward roads as well. Twelve major junctions will be redesigned, and Padarayanapura Main Road will be widened from 9 metres to 24. Rs. 112.75 crore is allotted to redevelop Russell Market.
East
The East corporation looks after much of the IT belt, including Whitefield. The biggest item is rebuilding the ORR between Silk Board Junction and KR Puram, at Rs. 450 crore. Varthur to Gunjur will get an elevated flyover for Rs. 150 crore, and World Bank-backed drains are budgeted at Rs. 629 crore. A 9 km footpath next to the ORR's metro viaduct takes Rs. 160 crore, and the 5.5 km Whitefield to Kadugodi road is to be widened.
How a Buyer Can Put This to Work
Budgets are useful background when kept in proportion. A short routine works well.
- Work out which corporation and ward the property falls under
- Search that budget for works on the daily route, such as the main road, the nearest drain or a junction
- Visit to see whether work has begun
- Count a seller's talk of coming upgrades as a claim, not a fact, until a tender or a work order is issued
- Check the khata, and fix who pays any B-khata conversion cost before the price is agreed
- Value the home by the roads, water and drains it already has
Fringe areas of the city, East Bangalore among them, lean most on such works, so the routine counts for more there. To get the ward, khata and approvals for a particular home, talk to our team.
