BEST passes ’18-19 budget, seeks Rs 354 crore from BMC

The BEST committee had last week passed a proposal to hike bus fares and curb economic benefits to employees to save up to Rs 500 crore on an annual basis. From a total expenditure of Rs 5,461.36 crore for the financial year, it has reserved almost Rs 1,500 crore for improving the transport wing.

“Maximum expenditure stated for the transport wing would be used for capital costs. The topic of wet lease of buses was not included in this budget. We expect the BMC to grant us funds for the remaining expenditure,” a senior BEST official said.

The BEST has reserved a major portion of as much as Rs 3,500 crore for its power supply wing. Officials add that a major share of the funds would be used to repair old electrical wires of the utility across the city.

“We walked out of the budget discussion as we did not find the financial calculations authentic. The rest is for the standing committee of the BMC to decide,” Sunil Ganacharya, BEST committee member from BJP, said. “We hope the BMC agrees to merge the BEST budget with theirs. This will allow the utility to function smoothly,” Suhas Samant, BEST committee member from the Shiv Sena, said.

The budget for 2017-18 financial year remains to be passed by the BMC. The BMC has been insisting on measures to curb losses first, if the undertaking expects any funding. The budget passed on Saturday shows an income of Rs 5,461.37 crore. However, the standing committee of the BMC will take the final call on the budget.