Mumbai: BMC spent one third of its expenses on BEST

Updated On: 20 January, 2020 06:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale

The civic body has spent R5,865 cr on various projects till December, of which Rs 1,836 cr went to the debt-ridden transport undertaking

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BMC chief Pravin Pardeshi announced Rs 100 crore every month and a lump sum Rs 1,236 crore so that BEST could rise from its debt. File pic

It seems the civic body is going all out to save the BEST, its transport wing, at the cost of the city's welfare. It has already splurged almost one-third of its overall capital expenses, Rs 1,836 crore, only on the BEST, while it is falling short of meeting its revenue income target this year. What's
more, it will hand over another R300 crore to the BEST before March-end this year.

Property tax, development charges, compensation of octroi, water and sewerage tax are the main sources of revenue for the BMC. Due to the slowdown in real estate, the civic body is facing issues on meeting the income target through property tax and development charges. Despite this, it has spent almost one-third of its overall capital funding on the BEST.