BEST BUDGET IN THE RED, `2,200 CR DEFICIT
The budget of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) for 2020-21 has an estimated deficit of Rs 2,249.74 crore.
BEST General Manager Surendra Kumar Bagde had submitted the 2020-21 budget to the BEST committee chairman Anil Patankar, at the committee meeting on October 10. As the model code of conduct was in effect then on account of the assembly election, the budget remained sealed until Tuesday.
The income of the electricity supply department for 2020-21 is projected at Rs 4 063 crore and expenses at Rs 3,963.27 crore, leaving a meagre surplus of Rs. 99.73 crore. This will be used for the department’s capital expenditure, it was explained at the meeting.
The income of the transport department is Rs 1,495.91 crore, while expenses are pegged at Rs 3,845.38 crore, meaning there is a deficit of Rs 2,349.47 crore.
The combined incomes of the electricity and transport department is expected to be Rs 5,558.91crore and expense is Rs 7,808.65 crore. Therefore, the deficit is of the transport department.
The budget deficit is estimated to mentioned in the balance of BEST is due to the wet-leasing of buses to add to its fleet. Currently, the transport department has a Rs 2,200 crore deficit, of which Rs 1,000 crore is on account of the wet-leasing of buses.
The deficit was Rs 380.37 crore in 2018-19, and in 2019-20, it was estimated at Rs 833.85 crore.
The BEST has been grappling with financial crisis for a while. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had extended support to its transport wing BEST for operations. But this is clearly not enough. In 2018, BEST’s daily income was Rs 83 crore, whileits expenses were Rs 159 crore. This year, its daily income is Rs 59 crore and expenditure is Rs 171 crore so far.
Currently, the undertaking, after incurring Rs 100 crore as expenses, has an income of Rs 35 crore, causing the deficit to increase.