Out of every ₹100 the Greater Chennai Corporation plans to spend in 2026-27, ₹27.40 goes on its own staff: salaries, provident fund and pensions. Day-to-day upkeep of the city takes another ₹25.10, so more than half the budget is gone before a single new road or drain is laid. That is the picture in the corporation’s Budget Estimate 2026-27 at a Glance.
The council passed the budget in February 2026, before the change of government in the state. It plans ₹6,146.29 crore of revenue spending and ₹2,754.05 crore of capital works, ₹8,900.34 crore in all, against receipts of ₹8,558.31 crore.
- The rectangles add up to ₹100, split in proportion to each head’s share of planned spending in 2026-27.
- The budget lists capital works by department; we grouped them into roads and bridges, storm-water drains and everything else.
- Shares are rounded to 10 paise, so they add up to ₹99.90 rather than ₹100. Exact crore figures are in the table.
Where the money goes
Capital works take ₹30.90 of each ₹100. Bus route roads (₹725.06 crore) and bridges (₹130.03 crore) together get ₹9.60, and storm-water drains ₹7.80, down sharply from the ₹1,290.05 crore the corporation expects to have spent on drains in 2025-26. Buildings get ₹400 crore and solid-waste management ₹323 crore.
Two items are transfers inside the corporation’s own books: ₹500 crore moved from the revenue account into the capital fund, and ₹493.95 crore paid into the elementary education fund that runs corporation schools. Interest on loans is small, at ₹95.20 crore.
Where the money comes from
Property tax is the single largest source, budgeted at ₹2,450 crore, or ₹28.60 of every ₹100. Assigned revenues and compensation from the state add ₹1,800 crore, and profession tax ₹600 crore. Collections are running ahead of last year: the corporation took in ₹1,124.69 crore of property tax and ₹312.06 crore of profession tax in the first half of 2026-27, DT Next reported.
How far revised spending for 2025-26 ran above that year’s budget, comparing the revised and budget columns of the Budget at a Glance.
A growing gap
The net deficit of revenue and capital accounts is budgeted at ₹2,011.77 crore for 2026-27, up from ₹601.09 crore in the 2024-25 accounts. Councillors raised the deficit at the February budget meeting, DT Next reported. In July, the state government ordered a cost review of 90 projects announced in the budget before further work, DT Next reported.
The numbers behind the graphic
| Item, 2026-27 budget | ₹ crore | Per ₹100 |
|---|---|---|
| Staff and pensions (establishment) | 2,437.40 | 27.40 |
| Operation and maintenance | 2,232.70 | 25.10 |
| Capital: bus route roads and bridges | 855.09 | 9.60 |
| Capital: storm-water drains | 693.05 | 7.80 |
| Capital: all other works | 1,205.91 | 13.50 |
| Transfer to capital fund | 500.00 | 5.60 |
| Elementary education fund | 493.95 | 5.50 |
| Administration | 328.21 | 3.70 |
| Interest and other | 154.03 | 1.70 |
| Total spending | 8,900.34 | 100 |
| Receipts: property tax / assigned revenue / capital grants | 2,450 / 1,800 / 1,092 | 28.60 / 21.00 / 12.80 |
| Receipts: own funds / profession tax / revenue grants | 955.34 / 600 / 575 | 11.20 / 7.00 / 6.70 |
| Receipts: loans / fees / rent and other / other taxes | 470 / 398.89 / 161.08 / 56 | 5.50 / 4.70 / 1.90 / 0.70 |
| Net deficit: 2024-25 actual / 2025-26 BE / 2025-26 RE / 2026-27 BE | 601.09 / 501.08 / 1,903.58 / 2,011.77 | – |
Source: Greater Chennai Corporation, Budget Estimate 2026-27 at a Glance (revenue and capital accounts, budget estimates 2026-27, with 2024-25 actuals and 2025-26 budget and revised estimates). Groupings and per-₹100 shares calculated by Spirit of Chennai.
About the data
All figures are budget estimates, not money spent. We added the revenue and capital accounts as the corporation presents them, so the ₹500 crore capital-fund transfer and the corporation’s own funds on the receipts side partly count the same rupees twice. Advances, deposits and loan repayments are left out; including them, news reports put the budget at ₹9,319 crore of spending.
The document was downloaded from the OpenCity data portal, which republishes the corporation’s budget files. The state’s July cost review may change project allocations during the year.
Quick answers
What is the size of the Chennai Corporation budget for 2026-27?
₹8,900.34 crore of revenue and capital spending, against ₹8,558.31 crore of receipts.
What is GCC’s biggest source of income?
Property tax, budgeted at ₹2,450 crore in 2026-27.
Information checked against official sources on 22 October 2026. Figures can be revised; confirm on the linked official pages before relying on them.
Sources
- Budget Estimate 2026-27 at a Glance (Greater Chennai Corporation, via OpenCity data portal)
- GCC Budget 2026-27 documents (OpenCity data portal)
- Analysis: GCC Budget 2026-27 (OpenCity, April 2026)
- CPI, BJP councillors flag dip in Chennai Corporation funding for depts (DT Next, 20 February 2026)
- TVK govt orders cost review of 90 Chennai Corporation projects (DT Next, 21 July 2026)
- Chennai Corporation collects Rs 1,436 crore tax in FY 2026-27 first half (DT Next, October 2026)
