BMC fixes Rs 33,000 Diwali ex gratia for staff, Rs 2,000 more than 2025

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to give its officers and employees an ex gratia of Rs 33,000 ahead of Diwali this year. The money will be credited along with the regular salary for November 2026. Mayor Ritu Tawde made the announcement on Wednesday.

The figure is Rs 2,000 more than the Rs 31,000 the civic body paid in 2025. Union representatives said they expect over 83,000 permanent employees and other eligible staff to benefit. The final sum for an individual may differ by post and cadre, since Rs 33,000 is the ceiling. The higher payout is expected to add a burden of about Rs 300 crore to the corporation's finances.

The decision followed a meeting held on Wednesday in the Mayor's chamber at the BMC headquarters. Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, Leader of the Opposition Kishori Pednekar and House Leader Ganesh Khankar were present. So were group leaders of several political parties, committee chairpersons, senior civic officials and representatives of employee unions. Union leaders Shashank Rao and Ramakant Bane later confirmed the outcome.

Teachers and non-teaching staff are covered too. Eligible staff in aided private primary and secondary schools will receive the amount, and union representatives named teaching assistants and education service workers among the categories included.

Ms Tawde said drought-like conditions in Maharashtra, caused by deficient rain, weighed on the discussion. The state government has declared drought in 300 talukas under the prescribed norms and has started a range of measures to cope. Even so, she said, the political group leaders, civic office-bearers, the administration and the coordination committee representing workers' and employees' unions agreed unanimously to keep up financial support for staff during the festival. She added that receiving the money with the November salary would allow civic employees to celebrate Diwali.

The administration has been directed to make the payment accordingly. Whether a particular employee gets it in the November pay will depend on eligibility criteria and administrative arrangements. The payout is meant to ease festival expenses and also to acknowledge the staff who keep essential civic services running in the city.

Separately, the BMC has planned a special cleanliness drive before Diwali to cut road dust and keep air pollution in check. It will run from October 28 to November 7, and each ward has been allotted Rs 15 lakh. As a precaution to hold Mumbai's Air Quality Index at an acceptable level during winter, all wards have been told to carry out the work.

The drive will concentrate on major arterial roads and stretches known to be prone to heavy dust. Crews will clean thoroughly, sweep with mechanical brooms, remove dust and sprinkle water. The roads chosen are the BKC Connector, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, the Eastern Express Highway, the Western Express Highway, the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Road, S.V. Road, Link Road, Carter Road and the Sion-Mankhurd Road.