The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is unlikely to impose tax hikes in its upcoming budget and will prioritise cleanliness, education, and healthcare. The MCD budget 2025-26 will be presented on Thursday by Commissioner Ashwani Kumar in a special House session.  The budget is expected to increase total outlay from last year's `16,683 Crore, source said.

According to them, the special budget is likely to allocate nearly `4,900 Crore for sanitation, up from `4,305 Crore, and education around `1,660 Crore, up from `1,645 in the previous budget last year. More than `1,830 Crore may be allotted to health and medical relief, up from `1,814 Crore in the previous budget, while `393.2 Crore is likely to be set aside for horticulture.

Sources said that there won't be any increments or additional taxes. The civic body had sought approval from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to allow the commissioner to present the budget in the absence of a standing committee.

While the Election Commission had initially withheld clearance due to the model code of conduct, the LG has now given his green light to the proposal.  Traditionally, the MCD budget is presented by the Standing Committee by January 30, allowing opposition parties and councillors time for discussion.

However, delays in forming the committee and the enforcement of the model code of conduct led to disruptions. A total of 22 MCD councillors contested the recently concluded elections, of which 11 managed to win.

This includes eight councillors from the BJP and three from the AAP. The winning BJP candidates included Ravinder Negi from Patparganj, Neelam Pehalwan from Najafgarh, Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh, Shikha Roy from Greater Kailash, Umang Bajaj from Rajendra Nagar, Gajender Drall from Mundka, Poonam Sharma from Wazirpur and Chandan Choudhary from Sangam Vihar.

From AAP, three councillors won— Punardeep Sawhney from Chandni Chowk, Prem Chauhan from Deoli and Aaley Mohammad Iqbal from Matia Mahal.

According to Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, the budget estimates, after being presented before the standing committee, are amended by the panel and forwarded to the house of councillors to be finalised. The budget process to finalise various municipal tax rates, the Act says, must culminate before February 15 in the house of councillors.