Mumbai: BEST gets Rs 800 crore in BMC Budget to improve their functioning

Tall plans, but short of money. This is the situation Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) is currently stuck. On February 3, the Budget 2022-23 presented by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) presented a rather lacklustre support to its sister Undertaking, the BEST.

The BMC has allotted Rs 800 crore as financial assistance to BEST Undertaking, considering the precarious financial condition. Reading the budget document, BMC Commissioner I S Chahal, stated that they are continuously assisting BEST Undertaking during last few years for infrastructural development and purchase of capital equipment, loan repayment, day-to-day expenditure, improve their functioning; among other things.

This will be subject to the implementation of Financial Revival Plan. "Considering the importance of public transportation, a provision of Rs 800 crore is proposed in the Budget Estimate 2022-23 for assisting undertaking, so as to help them to improve their functioning,” said Chahal.
It comes at a time when the BEST had sought Rs 6650 crore from the BMC for its overall revival and keep it running. In its annual budget for the year 2022-23 presented by the BEST, they reported a deficit of Rs 2236 crore.
This comes at a time when the BEST announced that they will be getting 900 air conditioned double decker electric buses on wet lease in the coming months, starting this year. Initially the BEST had made plans of adding 2100 AC e-buses that included 200 AC double decker e-buses.
By March 2023, the BEST proposed to have 50 per cent of their fleet to be electric and by March 2027 their entire bus fleet will become electric. The BEST intends to add 1400 single-decker AC e-buses, 400 midi AC e-buses, and 100 mini AC e-buses as well to their fleet. This will ensure that behind per lakh passengers there are 60 buses.
Meanwhile sources claim that the financial help from the BMC to its transport wing has been increasing since the past few years. It helped the BEST with Rs 151.35 crore over four financial years, from 2015 to 2019. Thereafter, it has allotted Rs 4,300 crore—half of it in 2019-20, Rs 750 crore in the current financial year, as well as Rs 406 crore loan for pending gratuity payment to BEST employees.
Couple of years ago, the BMC suggested several measures, like slashing the minimum ticket price to Rs 5, increasing the fleet, adding small buses, etc., in order to get funding from the BMC. The BEST may get aid from the Centre as well as the state government for the electric fleet.