Despite a series of meetings, where the loss-riddled BEST Undertaking had asked the BMC for grants and funds to help with its losses, all the civic body gave the Undertaking was Rs 26 crore, in its budget announced yesterday
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Despite a series of meetings, where the loss-riddled BEST Undertaking had asked the BMC for grants and funds to help with its losses, all the civic body gave the Undertaking was Rs 26 crore, in its budget announced yesterday.
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From the sum, Rs 25 crore is for Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's poll promise to provide free bus rides to students of municipal schools, while a token amount of Rs 1 crore has been earmarked for setting up a passenger information system at bus stops.
In their 154-page budget, BMC's allotment for BEST was summed up in two pages. This comes at a time when the Undertaking has reported losses of Rs 2,410 crore. BMC in the budget has claimed that urgent and drastic measures need to be taken, otherwise BEST will implode under its accumulated losses.
Sources said that at the recent meetings between the two agencies, BMC has suggested rationalization of bus routes and staff wet leasing of buses, abolishing subsidies and most importantly, making of voluntary retirement schemes. To improve work efficiency and reduce of non-performers BEST has proposed ‘Depot Automation' in all their 27 bus depots.
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