BMC Budget 2026: Authorised hawkers in Mumbai to get QR code-based certificates

Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI) In a move aimed at regulating street vending, the Mumbai civic body announced a QR code-based certification system for authorised street vendors as part of the Budget 2026-27 tabled on Wednesday.

Notably, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde had vowed stringent action against illegal hawkers and officials allegedly aiding them after taking charge.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani tabled a Rs 80,952.56 crore budget, marking an 8.77 per cent increase over the 2025-26 estimate of Rs 74,427.41 crore for India’s richest civic body.

The BMC stated that the process of issuing QR-based certificates to authorised hawkers was underway. The move is aimed at creating a verifiable digital database of legitimate vendors and curbing unauthorised hawking through on-ground verification using scannable codes.

The QR initiative forms part of a broader technological push, which includes the deployment of AI-enabled assistance for citizens and civic staff and advanced video analytics software linked to more than 1,150 CCTV cameras for enhanced urban surveillance.

The Budget also made substantial allocations for infrastructure and transport projects. A sum of Rs 9,650 crore has been earmarked for the Bridges Department, covering projects such as the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) and the northern stretch of the Mumbai Coastal Road from Versova to Dahisar.

The Roads and Traffic Department has been granted Rs 6,875 crore, primarily for concreting of major roads and junction improvements.

In addition, the BMC stated that digital payment facilities for property tax and water charges through UPI and QR codes would be facilitated in the coming year, signalling a wider shift towards cashless civic transactions.

Tawde had asserted that with the BJP in power in the city, the civic administration would act decisively against those who had allegedly procured bogus birth certificates and against officials found complicit.

A day earlier, she told reporters that 237 fake birth certificates issued by BMC officials had been cancelled, though the original documents were yet to be recovered.

"As many as 237 bogus birth certificates were issued and have now been cancelled. However, the originals are still with the Bangladeshi nationals residing in Mumbai. Officials have informed me that these will be recovered within a month," she said after chairing a high-level meeting.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the timeline, the mayor said the documents must be seized within 15 days.

"If senior officials are helping such anti-nationals and shielding them, we will have to take strict action. If they fail to discharge their duty, I will move a resolution in the meeting to initiate stringent action against them," she had warned. PTI ND NSK