Thanks to the civic elections slated for early 2017, the BEST standing committee meeting witnessed a tensed or heated discussion, on Monday, on the subject of just Rs10 crore being allocated for BEST in the latest BMC budget of 2016-2017.
Allocation of just Rs10 crore by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) will have a direct impact on bus services in Mumbai as the transport body's plan to buy 300 new buses is most likely to be hit hard.
Thanks to the civic elections slated for early 2017, the BEST standing committee meeting witnessed a tensed or heated discussion, on Monday, on the subject of just Rs10 crore being allocated for BEST in the latest BMC budget of 2016-2017.
The fleet size of BEST, at present, is around 4,200 and would come down by 300 with the old fleet of buses getting phased out making way for the new ones. But the new fleet of 300 buses will have to wait for the financial year 2017-18. Had Rs100 crore been allocated to the BEST by the civic body, the shiny buses would have joined in a few months from now.
While BMC standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse, who was at the meeting, blamed the BEST administration behind civic body's decision for just Rs10 crore, the administration said that it had asked for much more than what was marked last year (Rs100 crore).
Phanse said, "We want new buses to join BEST's existing fleet but the transport undertaking had not utilised the earlier given Rs100 crore." He alleged that some BEST officials were part of the political conspiracy to ensure buses do not hit Mumbai's roads and the funds gets lapsed as no proper plan was submitted to the civic body on utilising Rs100 crore.
However, Dr Jagdish Patil, general manager of BEST cleared the air stating that the only interest the administration has been working for is of "commuter's interest" and not for political or vested interest. It is for this reason, it had sought Rs350 crore from the BMC.
On the subject of new buses, Dr Patil said, that in last May bids were finalised only to be found that there was one bid. Thus, it resulted in re-tendering and it is only now that the deal is getting finalised.
In the run-up to civic body election scheduled early next year, Shiv Sena leader Phanse said that his party will make an attempt in the general body to get more funds included for BEST, before it gets approved by next month.
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