BIKANER, Sept. 8 -- As voters prepare to elect new municipal councils from September 9, the incoming civic bodies will inherit a financial challenge that could directly shape their ability to deliver basic services. The state's 2026-27 budget provides Rs..7,775.15 crore in direct grants to urban local bodies through octroi compensation and State and Central Finance Commission grants, even as municipalities continue to raise only a fraction of what they spend. According to the Rajasthan government's Sixth State Finance Commission data and the state's 2026-27 Budget, urban local bodies recorded Rs.1,460.35 crore in own revenue against total receipts of Rs.7,531.09 crore in 2023-24, while expenditure stood at Rs.8,022.07 crore, leaving a Rs.490.98-crore gap between receipts and spending. The weakness is structural despite substantial growth in municipal collections. Own revenue increased from Rs.798.37 crore in 2019-20 to Rs.1,460.35 crore in 2023-24, an increase of about 83%. But expenditure rose from Rs.4,940.46 crore to Rs.8,022.07 crore during the same period. Own revenue therefore accounted for only 19.4% of total receipts and was equivalent to just 18.2% of total expenditure in 2023-24. The state's accounts show the scale of support required to bridge the gap. Grants-in-aid to urban local bodies increased from Rs.2,491 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.4,298 crore in 2024-25, a rise of about 72.5%. Of the grants released in 2024-25, Rs..1,982 crore was for creation of assets, compared with Rs.1,492 crore a year earlier. Besides the Rs.7,775.15 crore in direct grants, Rajasthan has provided Rs.6,765.66 crore for AMRUT 2.0, Rs.1,289.25 crore for Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, Rs.812.66 crore for the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project and Rs.500 crore for maintenance and renovation of ULB roads in 2026-27. The dependence on government funding has also increased in the latest available actual accounts. Grants-in-aid to ULBs rose from Rs.2,491 crore in 2023-24 to Rs.4,298 crore in 2024-25, an increase of about 72.5% in a single year. Of the 2024-25 grants, Rs.1,982 crore was for creation of assets, compared with Rs.1,492 crore in the preceding year. In the latest available audited city accounts, Bikaner Municipal Corporation had own revenue of Rs..27 crore against expenditure of Rs..129 crore. Jaipur Greater recorded Rs.241 crore in own revenue against Rs.566 crore expenditure, while Jodhpur North had Rs.37 crore against Rs.257 crore. In Kota North, own revenue was just Rs.9 crore against expenditure of Rs.201 crore; Udaipur recorded Rs.62 crore against Rs.294 crore and Ajmer Rs..56 crore against Rs.209 crore. Rajasthan Finance Commission chairman Arun Chaturvedi told HT that the state was currently funding urban local bodies from its own income. The commission, he said, was studying successful models from other states and municipalities and would recommend suitable models to the state government....