BEST allocated ₹1,000 cr in BMC budget

BEST’s losses in 2025-26 stood at ₹2,200 crore while its overall financial liability stood at ₹9,286 crore

Mumbai: The financially beleaguered Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has been allocated ₹1,000 crore in this year’s Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget, a mere 1.34% of the total outlay of ₹ 74,427.41 crore. BEST union leaders criticised the meagre allocation and said they would soon meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and ask him to merge BEST’s budget with that of BMC.

BEST allocated ₹1,000 cr in BMC budget

“Although BMC itself has huge requirement of funds towards its ongoing projects and other important objectives, a total provision of ₹1,000 crore is proposed in 2025-26 as a grant to BEST considering its financial position,” said BMC’s budget document.

BEST’s losses in 2025-26 stood at ₹2,200 crore while its overall financial liability stood at ₹9,286 crore, according to the undertaking’s budget presented in November 2024. As of January, its total fleet strength was 2,878 buses, of which 19,35 buses were on wet lease.

The funding for BEST in this year’s BMC budget will be given on account of expenditure on infrastructure development, purchase of capital equipment, repayment of loans, acquisition of buses on wet lease basis, pay revisions, day-to-day expenses, Diwali bonus to employees, gratuity and other dues of pensioners, electricity charges etc.

“This amount is a pittance. How can BEST procure buses to augment its own fleet with this,” said Suhas Samant, BEST union leader and former member of the BEST committee. “We will be meeting the chief minister this week and ask him to intervene and merge the BEST’s budget with BMC’s,” he said.

Shashank Sharad Rao, BEST union leader, also said the amount proposed for BEST was meagre. “The money can be used for meeting operating expenses but not the deficit. It is also insufficient to purchase new buses to augment BEST’s fleet,” he said.