Ahmedabad: Elevated corridors, new flyovers and wider roads: infrastructure takes centre stage in Ahmedabad’s Rs 17,018 crore draft budget for 2026-27. With municipal elections due this year, the draft budget, presented by municipal commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani on Wednesday, also keeps property tax and other levies unchanged. Instead, capital spending has been ramped up to tackle traffic bottlenecks and upgrade urban connectivity. This is the first AMC budget since the city was named host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games.The proposed outlay of Rs 17,018 crore represents an increase of Rs 3,017 crore over the 2025-26 draft budget of Rs 14,001 crore. For 2026-27, the AMC has projected revenue expenditure of Rs 7,150 crore and capital expenditure of Rs 9,868 crore. The budget also lays out a long-term vision of a sustainable, adaptive, inclusive and futuristic (SAIF) city, with increasing reliance on data-driven planning and digital twins.To tackle chronic traffic congestion, the budget allocates Rs 1,000 crore for two elevated corridors: a 3-km corridor from Nehrunagar Circle to Iskcon Bridge and a 3.5-km corridor from Bopal Vakil Saheb Bridge to Ghuma village. In addition, the road from Isro to Iskcon is proposed to be widened to 40 metres.In a push to eliminate railway crossings within the city, five railway overbridges have been proposed with a combined allocation of Rs 425 crore. These include a flyover-cum-railway overbridge at Sanand Junction on SG Highway, and overbridges at Geratpur, Maninagar, Punit Nagar, and Vatva Vinzol railway crossings.The budget also proposes three new flyovers: at Memco Junction for an estimated Rs 70 crore; at Bhakti Circle Junction in Kathwada for Rs 80 crore; and Silver Star Junction in Chandlodia for Rs 75 crore. In addition, Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for a restricted height underpass beneath the Ahmedabad-Viramgam railway line in front of Jaladhara Society in Bopal, while Rs 30 crore is proposed for a restricted height underpass near the Shreyas railway overbridge from Popatlal Dani Garden towards Ayojan Nagar.Another Rs 30 crore has been allocated for underpasses connecting the Sabarmati Riverfront through Cantonment premises to Airport Circle, along a 24-metre-wide TP road expanding into a 36-metre-wide TP road at the airport.For future bridge projects, the AMC has set aside Rs 1 crore for feasibility studies at five locations. These include a river bridge over the Sabarmati from Hansol to Koteshwar, an elevated corridor flyover from Dariapur Darwaza to Delhi Darwaza Junction via Shahpur, an elevated corridor from Prernatirth Derasar in Jodhpur ward through Sundarvan and Ranujanagar to Mansi Circle, and an elevated corridor flyover from Radhaswami Road in Ranip through Bakaramandi to Acher Depot.The budget also earmarks Rs 25 crore for development of space beneath 11 bridges and river bridges, including the Sattadhar flyover and the Income Tax flyover.Presenting the budget, Pani said this was the AMC’s first budget after the Commonwealth Games announcement and that it balanced basic civic services with long-term sports infrastructure. “Rs 100 crore has been allocated to set up a Commonwealth Readiness Cell, while 35 new playgrounds are proposed across the city. The budget also sets aside Rs 10 crore for the AMC sports volunteer programme and Rs 211.88 crore for the construction of six sports complexes and five mini sports complexes, with a stated plan to develop at least one sports complex in each zone.“He added, “A major thrust of the budget is climate resilience, with a historic Rs 8,247 crore (84% of the total capital budget) allocated to climate-resilient projects.” This signals a long-term focus on sustainability as the city prepares for rapid growth and global sporting commitments.
