Nashik civic body to earmark Rs 1,500 crore for Kumbh as its contribution

Nashik: The civic body is planning to earmark Rs 1,500 crore for the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, slated to be held in 2026-27. This is part of Nashik Municipal Corporation's contribution to the mega religious event.
The amount is to be reserved over the next two financial years, beginning April 2025.
During the previous Kumbh Mela, in 2015, NMC's contribution was 25% of the funds, while 75% of the funds were provided by Centre and state govt. Govt approved a Rs 1,050.61 crore plan for the Kumbh Mela, and the Centre and state had jointly provided 75% of the funds. The remaining 25% was raised by the civic administration.
NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri told TOI that the civic body's contribution may be around Rs 1,500 crore this time as pwer the plans prepared by the municipal corporation.
"We will need to earmark Rs 1,500 crore over the next two years as per the 25% contribution of the municipal corporation. We are planning to raise the amount through savings, by avoiding unnecessary work, and generating new sources for revenue," said Khatri.
"As a part of this, the major focus will be on financial discipline. We will focus only on the necessary works during the coming budget of the civic body, and unnecessary works are to be avoided to save money," said the NMC commissioner, adding, "We will have to earmark our contribution as per the grant we will get from central and state govts."
"We are planning to generate revenue through various sources. We have the Goda Park, two new auditoriums, and other projects built by the smart city corporation, through which we will be getting some revenue by way of the entry tickets," she added.
"NMC already had 38 parking spaces identified for the pay-and-park project, including 33 on-street and five off-street parking spaces. Moreover, one or two projects we are planning through build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis so that the civic body will not need to spend, but will get some revenue," said Khatri.
"Overall, NMC has plans to save at least Rs 600 crore every year as our contribution for the upcoming Kumbh Mela," added the NMC commissioner.
Earlier, NMC prepared Rs 15,000 crore plans for the Kumbh Mela. However, after the instructions of the divisional commissioner of Nashik, Praveen Gedam, the NMC administration curtailed the plan to Rs 7,500 crore.
Kumbh Mela is the occasion that helps the civic body to improve the city's infrastructure like roads, streetlights, water supply, and health. Over 2 crore devotees and sadhus visited during the last Kumbh Mela. Around 5 crore devotees and sadhus are expected to visit Nashik during the upcoming Kumbh Mela.