BEST AGM’s "junket" comes under fire

MUMBAI, May 15: The proposed tour of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking's additional general manager, M A Sh...

MUMBAI, May 15: The proposed tour of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking’s additional general manager, M A Shanbag, to Germany and other European countries to participate in the 52nd Congress of the International Union of Public Transport (IUPT) has run into rough weather.

According to sources, Shanbag is due to retire in December and his deputation to attend the conference has met with severe criticism from all quarters.

After the proposed tour was objected to by BJP leader and member of BEST committee Sardar Tara Singh, the issue has taken an interesting turn with municipal chief auditor P C Pisolkar writing to general manager V M Lal to reconsider the proposal. Pisolkar told Express Newsline it was not proper to send an official who is due to retire shortly on a study tour of this nature. “There is no point in sending such a person on such a cost-intensive assignment as the undertaking will not be able to exploit the knowledge gained by him. I have written to the general manager to reconsider the proposal,” Pisolkar said. Lal was not available for comment. Singh had opposed the tour saying the estimated expenditure of Rs 4.50 lakh a delegate would go waste as Shanbag’s services would not be available from December.

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The BEST committee on February 6 sanctioned the participation of general manager Lal and Shanbag in Stuttgart congress from June 1 to June 6 and the pre-conference study tour at Berlin from May 28 to June 1 including excursions on June 6 and 7. All expenditure towards the overseas tour was to be borne by the Undertaking. The IUPT Congress is the world’s largest and representatives from premier public-transport organisations from all over the world gather to discuss trends and technological innovations.

The Indian delegation, including representatives of Association of State Road Transport Undertakings, a statutory body under Union Surface Transport Ministry, would be led by the vice-president of the association. However, the undertaking on April 7 circulated another item before the committee and got approval for extension of the tour period by seven days.

BEST had received a letter from director of the institute suggesting the delegation should visit countries neighbouring Germany for a week following the congress to study urban transport systems in Switzerland, bus body construction technology at Volvo in Sweden, tyre-manufacturing companies in Luxemburg and the Road Safety Institute in Rotterdam.