A number of wrong decisions, a plethora of poor plans and an unestimated budget spent on its over-stuffed employees have thrown the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) out of gear. The BEST unions are holding a strike for the last one week. Now, running under heavy loss the administration has failed to pay salaries to staffs in time. The administration is also stifling under Rs 4,500 crore to bail out from the present status. 

As per budget estimates for 2017-18, the BEST’s has a deficit of Rs 590 crore. 

BMC — the parent body of BEST — has given a cold shoulder and does not seem to bail out the undertaking. Ravi Raja, leader of the opposition, and BEST committee members for almost two decades said poor planning, coupled with wrong decisions, were responsible for the condition.

“The problem began after the AC buses were purchased. After frequent breakdown, a shocking fact came to the fore that the so-called King Long buses were actually manufactured by JayCee Coach Builders Limited, Punjab, and not by a Chinese firm,” said Raja.

He said the whole scam led a loss of around Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore. Another former BEST committee member, Kedar Humbalkar, also admitted that the first decision to buy the AC buses was thoughtless as 99 per cent buses were technically low-grade. Also, BEST had to sell it for Rs 2 lakh in scrap, he said, adding the BEST had the buses under the JNNURM fund. 

“BEST used to impose TDLR on electricity subscriber to cover up losses in transport. However, the BEST had to go away after people reached court and the court decided that people who did not travel by BEST buses should not be made to pay for subsidising transport bills.

WHAT'S RINGING

• An official of Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Monday that CM Fadnavis is in constant touch with Thackeray over the BEST issue.