Mohali, March 25 -- Banking heavily on enhanced property tax collection, the Mohali Municipal Corporation, in a special meeting on Tuesday, approved a Rs.266 crore budget for the 2026-27 financial year, marking a sharp 41% increase over the previous year. The civic body expects higher contributions from the Punjab Municipal Fund (Rs.100 crore), property tax (Rs.90 crore), advertisement fees (Rs.49 crore), water tax (Rs.7 crore) and rent (Rs.3 crore). The estimated property tax earning in the last budget was Rs.55 crore. Last year, the Punjab government had approved a reduced budget of Rs.188 crore for Mohali, despite the corporation having cleared a Rs.211 crore proposal for 2025-26. The approved budget had projected a surplus, with the MC estimating its expenditure at Rs.158.69 crore for the current fiscal. The MC originally expected a total income of Rs.188 crore in 2025-26, drawing major revenue from the Punjab Municipal Fund (Rs.90 crore), property tax (Rs.55 crore), advertisement fees (Rs.27 crore) and water tax (Rs.5 crore). Municipal fund and property tax remains the key earnings for the corporation. However, the revised income for 2025-26 has dipped to Rs.183 crore, with several revenue streams revealed a downward trend. Till March 31 this year, MC aims to earn Rs.25 crore from advertisement fees, Rs.55 crore from property tax and water tax collections will be slightly reduced to Rs.4 crore. "The property tax collection has improved significantly this fiscal year. We are also working to collect the arrears from government properties. Property tax rates won't be increased," said mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu. Meanwhile, ahe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors raised objections over unrevised revenue data. Councillor Manjit Singh Sethi, said, "These figures are merely eyewash as we have been provided with the income and expenditure statistics till December 2025. It's March 24. How can MC say that we expect to generate crores of income till March 31? The MC should have provided updated receipts till March 23." The MC rejected the proposal on mechanised sweeping of internal roads. Congress councillor Rupinder Reena said, "Mechanically sweeping on internal roads, that too once a week, should not be approved as the firm has already failed to maintain bigger roads. Also, internal roads have parked cars and less space for a machine to enter." The argument was supported by all city councillors. Around 100 sanitation workers protested outside the MC building, demanding job regularisation. Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation representative Pawan Godyal said, "MC should regularise around 500 sanitation workers, who were hired in 2022. We also demand hiring of at least 1,000 more workers for new areas being added to the MC."...