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Ahmedabad Becomes India’s First City to Integrate Climate Budgeting in Municipal Finances
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Recently, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) became India’s first urban local body to incorporate a dedicated climate chapter within its annual budget.
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- Titled the “Sustainable and Climate Budget,” this initiative has earmarked over a third of AMC’s total budget—₹15,619.58 crore out of ₹21,502 crore—for climate action.
- This allocation is intended to facilitate the implementation of a net-zero climate-resilient city action plan, aligning with India’s 2070 net-zero target, officials stated.
Setting a Precedent for Indian Cities
- Ahmedabad’s move raises an important question: should other metro cities in India follow suit?
- The recent ₹17,000 crore budget presented by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), for instance, lacks a dedicated climate component.
- Experts note that while India’s urban centres are among the most vulnerable to climate change, they have been slow to institutionalise sustainability measures in their municipal budgets.
- Cities like Mumbai, Coimbatore, and Udaipur have previously experimented with climate-tagging budgets and pilot projects funded by non-governmental organisations.
- Mumbai, for example, allocated 33% of its capital expenditure for climate-related projects such as landfill restoration and solar panel installations in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
- However, unlike Ahmedabad, Mumbai’s climate budget was presented separately on World Environment Day (June 5), rather than being integrated into its main budget.
Ahmedabad’s Climate Action Plan
- Ahmedabad’s 2070 climate action plan, prepared in March 2024, estimates an annual funding requirement of ₹29,500 crore to meet its net-zero target.
- The AMC is aiming for energy savings and renewable energy generation of 310 million units by 2027-28 while mitigating 338,536 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
- To finance these initiatives, AMC will also seek contributions from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) funds.
- The climate budgeting process and the 2070 action plan were supported by the non-profit ICLEI and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
- Ahmedabad had previously committed to climate action at COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021.
Recognition and Global Benchmarking
- In 2023, Ahmedabad became the first city in India to achieve eight out of nine badges from the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), a global alliance of over 12,500 local governments across 144 countries.
- Other Indian cities, including Mumbai, Leh, and Coimbatore, are also part of GCoM.
Need for Holistic Urban Planning
- The Ahmedabad Climate Resilient City Action Plan identifies existing gaps in infrastructure, including road networks, streetlights, public transport, water supply, sewage systems, and waste management.
- Unlike Ahmedabad, most Indian cities are struggling to institutionalise even their master plans.
- Delhi’s master plan, for example, has been pending notification by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for over three years.
- Similarly, as per a December 2024 Rajya Sabha reply, only 219 out of 500 cities with populations exceeding 100,000 (as per the 2011 Census) have officially notified master plans.
- A 2023 study by the non-profit Janaagraha found that 39% of India’s capital cities lack an active master plan.
- The absence of integrated planning leads to infrastructure challenges, resulting in cities being overburdened and under-resourced.
Role of Infrastructure Planning in Climate Resilience
- Experts argue that a fragmented approach to infrastructure development leads to poor decision-making.
- Instead of prioritiSing sustainable solutions like improved public transportation, cities often resort to reactive measures such as building more flyovers to address congestion.
- For example, Chennai currently supplies 1,040 million liters per day (MLD) of water, while the demand is approximately 1,720 MLD.
- Hydrologist Sakthivel Beemaraja highlights that the city compensates for the shortfall by depleting groundwater, an unsustainable practice.
- Similarly, Chennai produces around 1,500 MLD of sewage, but only 600 MLD is treated, leading to groundwater and surface water pollution.
- Guwahati faces a similar crisis.
- A 2023 study by the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management revealed that the city’s effective water supply is only 56.63 MLD compared to a demand of 229 MLD.
- Ironically, despite being situated along the Brahmaputra River, one of the world’s largest freshwater reserves, Guwahati fails to provide piped water to 70% of its residents.
- A 2023 study by the North Eastern Regional Institute of Water and Land Management revealed that the city’s effective water supply is only 56.63 MLD compared to a demand of 229 MLD.
Future of Climate-Integrated Urban Budgets
- Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is now planning to budget climate programs in coordination with agencies such as the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
- The Mumbai Climate Action Plan—the first city-based climate plan in India—was supported by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and C40, an international network of 100 cities assisting six Indian metros in framing climate policies.
