Opposition alleges ₹3,141 crore debt as AMC debates ₹18,518 crore budget

The annual ₹18,518 crore budget of the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for 2026–27 triggered a heated debate on Friday, with the Opposition alleging that the civic body’s total debt has risen to ₹3,141 crore and accusing the ruling party of failing to present annual financial reports for the past two years.

Leader of the Opposition Shehzad Khan Pathan claimed that the civic body’s total debt stands at ₹3,141 crore and accused the ruling party of approving budgets worth thousands of crores without placing a proper account before citizens.

“You approve budgets running into crores, but do not give an account to the people. An annual report should be presented along with the budget, so that citizens know how their tax money has been spent and what remains undone,” Pathan said during the general board meeting. He alleged that no annual report has been tabled for the past two years.

Responding to the criticism, Standing Committee Chairman Devang Dani said development works worth approximately ₹2 crore were being carried out every hour in the city. Mayor Pratibha Jain defended the administration, stating that loans were necessary to fund development projects in a growing metropolis.

Pathan, however, contended that the ruling party had sought public appreciation by passing large budgets in recent years without adequate disclosure. “You must account for the ₹27,000 crore budget approved over the past two years. An annual report must be placed before the standing committee and the board, but this has not been done,” he said.

Citing figures from the 2026–27 budget document, Pathan said that as of April 1, 2026, the corporation had shown government loans of ₹80.11 crore, a Gujarat State Financial Corporation (GSFC) loan of ₹354.47 crore, green bonds worth ₹200 crore and a GRCP loan of ₹350 crore, totalling ₹984.58 crore. The budget proposes to raise fresh loans of ₹450 crore — ₹150 crore from GSFC and ₹300 crore from GRCP — taking the total to ₹1,434.58 crore. After repayment of ₹107.70 crore during the year, the outstanding debt has been projected at ₹1,326.88 crore.

He further alleged discrepancies in the accounting of a World Bank-assisted project. According to him, while works worth ₹2,465 crore have been planned against a ₹3,000 crore World Bank loan, only ₹650 crore has been reflected as debt in the budget, thereby understating liabilities by ₹1,815 crore.

During his address, Dani referred to alleged misuse of public funds during the previous Congress administration, prompting objections from the Opposition. Pathan urged the Mayor to advise the chairman against repeatedly referring to events from “30 years ago”.