A week has passed since Diwali, yet, nearly 44,000 employees of the cash-strapped Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking, are yet to receive their Diwali bonus. The administration has been struggling to arrange for funds that would be required to do so. A meeting of the BEST Committee on Wednesday was adjourned as some members staged a walkout after the chairman couldn't assure when the non-deductible bonus would be transferred to the employees' accounts.The committee was meeting to discuss its budget for the next financial year but members across party lines took up the issue of delay in paying bonus that was promised before Diwali, on November 2."We don't have enough funds to meet this expense, yet we agreed to pay the non-deductible bonus to the employees after they demanded it in the previous meeting. The cash-flow is unpredictable and there are financial constraints, as everyone knows. We are looking for solutions for it (issuing Diwali bonus) though we aren't in any better shape than the last three years, when the bonus couldn't be disbursed," said Surendra Bagde, General Manager, BEST, in the meeting that lasted only thirty minutes."Keeping the festivities in mind, we managed to pay the employees on November 1 instead of the mid-month routine, with great difficulties. We need Rs 21.58 crore to pay the bonus; it is not a small amount. We need at least eight more days to work out the details and be able to declare when the bonus can be paid."A deductible bonus was given to the employees last Diwali, after borrowing funds from the municipal corporation. The amount was deducted from the salaries of the employees over a period of 11 months. A non-deductible bonus of Rs 5,500 was declared after unanimous demands from all committee members and threats of a workers' strike.In Wednesday's meeting, several members voiced their concerns about the growing discontent among employees. Ravi Raja, a member affiliated to the Congress Party, termed the delay as "embarrassing" for the committee, before staging a walk-out along with party member Bhushan Patil, followed by BJP's Sunil Ganacharya and Shrikant Kavthankar. Left with only a few Shiv Sena members, the Chairman, Ashish Chemburkar, then adjourned the meeting till Thursday.Shrikant Jadhav, Chairman of BMC Standing Committee, issued a directive to the BEST administration to come up with a working plan and declare when they will issue the bonus in eight days time. "I understand and am aware of the constraints, but there should have been more clarity while declaring the bonus," said Jadhav."The general manager was not conceding to the demands for bonus, given the lack of funds, but relented during the previous meeting. We can expect the bonus to be transferred within a period of 30 to 45 days," said Chemburkar. "And as far as the walk-out is concerned, it is what the opposition members often do. If Ravi Raja was so concerned about the employees then why didn't he attend the previous two meetings when the bonus was discussed?" quipped the chairman.

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  • The meeting scheduled for 11 am on Wednesday started two hours late after members walked in just before 1 pm, only to be adjourned following a walkout by opposition members within half an hour.  
  • Total BEST employees: 44,000  
  • Bonus amount payable to each Rs 4,500 – 5,500 (depending on multiple factors)  
  • Total amount payable: Rs 21.58 crore