BEST refuses to extend Trimax contract

The Asian Age.  | Sonu Shrivastava

Metros, Mumbai

The company was awarded the contract by the BEST administration in 2010 for five years, followed by multiple extensions.

BEST committee member Shrikant Kavthankar said that out of the 9,508 Trimax machines, only 2,076 are working and the remaining 7,000 are faulty. (Representational image)

Mumbai: The BEST committee on Friday rejected the proposal to extend the contract of Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services Ltd’s electronic ticketing machine. More than 70 per cent of the machines turned out to be faulty.

The company was awarded the contract by the BEST administration in 2010 for five years, followed by multiple extensions.

BEST committee member Shrikant Kavthankar said that out of the 9,508 Trimax machines, only 2,076 are working and the remaining 7,000 are faulty. He said they were  irreparable. “Now the question is how the administration will repair them,” he asked.        

Senior BEST committee member, Mr Sunil Ganacharya said, “BEST general manager  Surendra Bagade should resign as he has incurred loss of more than `150 crore to the administration due to his wrong policies in last two years. If he continues to be at helm of affairs, he will bring more loss by extending the contract.”

Mr Bagade said that Trimax was responsible for 70 per cent of the ticket earnings, while the remaining 30 per cent was from paper tickets. “The proposal of the contract extension has been rejected. We will decide on the next course of action soon,” he said.      

BEST committee member and opposition leader in Brihanmumbai Municipal Coproration (BMC) , Mr Ravi Raja said, “The BEST administration should go to the urban development department for extension of the Trimax contract. On one hand, it writes to Trimax company to exit from the BEST, while on other hand, it has tabled a proposal for extension. This is bad in law, “ he said.

Pointing at the chairman, Mr Raja said, “The Shiv Sena is in power in the BEST committee and the BMC, it should bring a no-confidence motion against the GM. All of us will support the motion.”

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