Mumbai: The BEST will get financial assistance of Rs 1,250 crore for 2025-26, which includes a grant from BMC of Rs 1,000 crore in the civic budget and an additional Rs 250 crore sanctioned by the 15th Finance Commission for the purchase of electric buses, civic commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said on Tuesday. This is 35% more than the allocation in the civic budget last year — of Rs 929 crore for BEST.
A senior BEST official, however, said that the allocation of funds for the iconic transport body in Mumbai was “inadequate”. “In our own (BEST) budget proposal for 2025-26, we have shown a deficit of Rs 2,132 crore for the next financial year. The transport body is bleeding and we desperately need to be bailed out by the civic body or state govt. To cover next fiscal year’s deficit, we had also proposed to the BMC a few weeks back to help us purchase new buses and requested a grant of Rs 2,812 crore,” the official, who requested anonymity, pointed out.
In his address to the media after releasing the budget document, BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said that since 2012-13, BMC has financially assisted BEST by giving a total amount of Rs 11,304.59 crore till Jan 2025. “Although BMC itself has a huge requirement of funds towards its ongoing projects and other important objectives, a total provision of Rs 1,000 crore has been proposed in budget estimates for 2025-26 as a grant to BEST considering the financial position of the transport undertaking,” he said.
This amount will be given on account of expenditure on BEST’s infrastructural development and purchase of capital equipment, repayment of loans, new buses on wet lease basis, pay revisions, day-to-day expenses, ITMS (Integrated Transport Management System) project, payment of Diwali bonus to employees, gratuity and other dues of pensioners, electricity dues, etc, he added.
It is learnt Rs 992 crore has been sanctioned by the 15th Finance Commission for purchase of electric buses in Mumbai. Of this, BMC plans to release Rs 250 crore. “This will be used exclusively for purchase of electric buses,” an official said. “So BEST will benefit with financial assistance of a total of Rs 1,250 crore for 2025-26,” he added.
A transport activist from Mumbai Mobility Forum said BEST should be given funds to purchase its own buses. Another activist from citizens’ group Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST alleged the wet lease model was a “failure”. “Why is BMC aiding procurement of wet lease (contractual) buses. It should provide funds for BEST to purchase its own fleet — with fleet depleting below 1,000-mark,” he added. BEST wants to increase its fleet to 10,182 buses by March 2026, a source said.