Huge funding for BEST very unlikely: Committee members

Senior corporators and committee members of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Tuesday stated that heavy fund allotment for the transport undertaking is unlikely in the 2021-22 municipal budget. Last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had allotted Rs 1,500 crores to the cash-strapped transport undertaking, which had been the highest ever allotment to date. However, owing to the heavy cash crunch due to the pandemic outbreak, BMC had slashed the budget by Rs 500 crores. “Allotment of fund more than Rs 500 crores to the BEST is unlikely as the BMC itself is struggling hard to meet the estimated revenue target,” Ravi Raja, BMC Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BEST committee member told FPJ.