The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) has asked the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for a grant of Rs 1,000 crore as viability gap funding (VAF) as a way out to keep themselves from sinking completely.
The BEST, which was relying on its parent organisation the BMC for a loan of Rs 350 crore has received only Rs 100 crore as the BMC itself has projected heavy losses owing to the Centre’s decision to replace local body tax with the Goods and Services Tax Bill.
BEST general manager Jagdish Patil confirmed that the proposal was presented to Mr Fadnavis and said that it will me more or less a wait-and-watch situation. “It has been presented as a VAF, and so there is a difference between the money we had asked the BMC on a loan. We have been told it is under consideration,” he said.
The BEST committee members have opposed the transport deficit loss recovery (TDLR) to be continued after its expiry at the end of this month. As a result of which the BEST administration had proposed other ways to find a way out to draw in more money — a transport cess to be added to the property cess.
