DNCC announces Tk4,527cr budget, sidelines waterlogging

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has announced a Tk4,527 crore budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, placing major emphasis on road and traffic infrastructure development while allocating comparatively little for addressing the city's persistent waterlogging problem.
DNCC Administrator Safiqul Islam Khan announced the budget at a press conference at Nagar Bhaban in Gulshan on Thursday.
The DNCC has earmarked only Tk45 crore for canal excavation and waterlogging mitigation, accounting for just 1% of the total budget.
The new budget is Tk1,542.95 crore lower than the Tk6,069.95 crore budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. However, the actual implementation of the previous budget stood at Tk4,082.29 crore.
Under the proposed budget, Tk1,366 crore has been allocated for road and traffic infrastructure development. The waste management sector will receive Tk511.41 crore, while Tk208.85 crore has been earmarked for mosquito control and primary healthcare. A total of Tk294.36 crore has been allocated for salaries, honorariums and allowances.
No new development projects have been included in the budget for the current fiscal year. The DNCC has also excluded several key projects, including the development of the Kalyanpur retention pond, the redevelopment of Karwan Bazar, and the improvement of the Baishteki, Sangbadik Colony and Kurmitola canals.

Waste management outsourcing costs rise
Expenditure on waste management through private companies, primarily for transporting waste from secondary transfer stations to the Aminbazar landfill, has increased significantly.
While Tk85 crore was spent for the purpose in the 2024-25 fiscal year, the allocation was raised to Tk125 crore in the 2025-26 budget. However, the revised budget shows that actual expenditure reached Tk132 crore, exceeding the original allocation by Tk7 crore.
The cost of mosquito control activities carried out through outsourced manpower has also increased. Expenditure rose to Tk30 crore in the last fiscal year from Tk28 crore in the previous year.
Meanwhile, spending on mosquito control chemicals increased sharply to Tk50 crore in the last fiscal year from Tk12 crore in 2024-25, marking an increase of Tk38 crore.