In a significant development, it has come to light that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will not give funds to Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) to buy buses this year. However, the civic body will allocate money for this purpose over the next few years.
“We are not sure about any funding to the BEST this year, but there is a provision of allocation of funds to the undertaking over the next few years,” civic administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal told mid-day on Wednesday, August 30.
This development came at a time when BEST had written to BMC about the issue of decreasing bus fleet, which remains unaddressed for nearly three months.
On June 16, 2023, the BEST had sent a proposal to the municipal commissioner to provide financial assistance for the purchase of new buses. But the BMC has not taken any decision yet and if new buses are not added, the entire burden will be on contract buses.
In July, BEST has demanded funds from the BMC to procure new buses for its own fleet. If the latter doesn't approve the request, the undertaking will have to rely entirely on contractors soon.
BEST General Manager Vijay Singhal had written to the BMC for financial aid of INR 3,419.44 crore to procure 2,237 buses for its own fleet.
According to a source, BEST scrapped 1,696 old buses by March 2023 and will have to scrap another 541 buses by March 2024.
The BEST transport department is running in losses. They should get funds to maintain their fleet and provide services to the citizens. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should look into this, transport undertaking unions added.
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