Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allocated Rs 7,380.43 crore for healthcare in its 2025-26 budget of Rs 74,427 crore, focusing on hospital redevelopment, disease prevention and expanded medical services.
To increase capacity, 3,515 new beds will be added through municipal hospital redevelopment. Intensive care and neonatal ICU services in suburban hospitals will also be expanded. The Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray – Aapla Dawakhana initiative, which has 250 centres and 33 polyclinics, has benefited 90 lakh patients so far.
New Aapla Dawakhana Centres To Come Up In City
In the coming year, 25 new Aapla Dawakhana centres and three physiotherapy centres will be set up. Free diagnostic tests, including X-rays, ECGs, CT scans, MRI and mammography, will be provided at municipal rates through private labs.
Under a public-private partnership model, private institutions will operate and maintain hospitals for 30 years. These include the 490-bed Bhagwati Hospital in R/North Ward, a 300-bed hospital transferred from MMRDA in M/East Ward, as well as the Punjabi Galli Diagnostic Center, Jakhadevi Multi-Specialty Clinic and Vikhroli Parksite Hospital.
Several specialty medical services and hospital upgrades are planned. Nair Hospital will get a new oncology and emergency department, while Cooper Hospital will have a 150-bed cancer unit equipped with Linear Accelerator radiation therapy. IVF and dialysis services will be expanded at KEM, Nair, and LTMG Hospitals. The redevelopment of LTMG Hospital will include a new nursing college and an oncology building.
A ‘Zero Prescription Policy’ will ensure that all required medicines are available in municipal hospitals. The ‘Aarogya Seva Aaplya Dari’ initiative will introduce door-to-door health check-ups. DNB medical courses will be expanded, with new specialisations in ENT and Anesthesia.
Cancer Screening Initiative
In terms of disease prevention and cancer screening, 30 lakh citizens will be screened for hypertension, while an HPV vaccination program will be launched for girls aged 9 to 14 to prevent cervical cancer. A ward-wise cancer care model will be implemented to screen for oral, breast and cervical cancer.
Efforts to eliminate tuberculosis include distributing kits with masks, sanitizers, and spittoons to all TB patients. A Next-Generation Sequencing pilot project at Kasturba Hospital will improve TB diagnosis. A new BPaL regimen for MDR-TB treatment will be introduced.
Initiatives Benefitting Pregnant Women & Children
Maternal and child healthcare initiatives include 38 ‘Maa Mitra’ helpdesks to track high-risk pregnancies, automated voice calls and SMS alerts for pregnant women and infant immunization, cochlear implant surgeries for children with hearing disabilities at AJB ENT Hospital, and the establishment of two new Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres for malnourished children.
The immunization and disease surveillance program will conduct 52,000 vaccination sessions annually across Mumbai. A Typhoid Sentinel Surveillance program will be introduced in nine health centres.