Mumbai: BEST union renews demand for merger of BEST with BMC budget

The letter, dated June 15, 2026, comes after BEST Committee Chairperson Trupti Vishwasrao publicly backed the proposal, a development welcomed by the union. Representational Pic

The BEST Workers Union has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, renewing its decade-old demand to merge the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking's subsidiary 'K' budget with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation's main 'A' budget.

The letter, dated June 15, 2026, comes after BEST Committee Chairperson Trupti Vishwasrao publicly backed the proposal, a development welcomed by the union.

Speaking to mid-day.com, trade union leader Shashank Sharad Rao said, "The union's demand is not new. The BEST Workers Union first raised this issue in 2016, arguing that separating BEST's budget from the BMC's main budget has financially weakened the undertaking and threatened the job security of thousands of workers."

"On August 7, 2017, the union escalated the matter through a strike, after which Uddhav Thackeray reportedly assured workers that the merger would be carried out. Both the BEST Committee and the BMC general body subsequently passed resolutions approving the merger. However, in 2019, under the Shiv Sena-led municipal administration, a resolution was sent to the Maharashtra government's Urban Development Department seeking cancellation of the merger decision, effectively stalling the process indefinitely," he said.

"The issue was reignited following a hunger strike by union members, after which a meeting on November 14, 2025, attended by BEST's General Manager, resolved that the merger proposal would be referred to the BMC Commissioner for implementation," he explained.

The union's latest letter, a copy of which is with mid-day, urges the Chief Minister to issue clear directions to concerned authorities to expedite the merger, emphasising that Mumbai's commuters deserve quality BEST services and that workers' livelihoods depend on the financial stability of the undertaking.

"BEST has long struggled with financial losses, and the union argues that merging its budget with BMC's much larger corpus would provide a lifeline, enabling salary payments, fleet upgrades, and service continuity. With BEST Committee Chairperson Vishwasrao now publicly aligned with the demand, pressure is mounting on the state government to act. The ball is now in Chief Minister Fadnavis's court," he said.