Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar has said that employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking will receive their salaries from March 21.
Mr. Mahadeshwar said that 31,000 employees of Grades 3 and 4 will receive their salaries on March 21, while 11,000 officers will receive their salaries on March 22. The announcement was made following a joint meeting of senior officials of BEST and the municipal corporation called by the Mayor.
No word on source
However, Mr. Mahadeshwar refused to give an exact source of funding for the ₹185 crore needed to pay the salaries. He said the salaries would be paid from BEST’s funds. He also said an action plan would be drafted within a week to resolve the BEST’s financial problems.
‘State help welcome’
When asked if the State government’s help would be sought for bailing out the BEST, the Mayor said while State help was welcome, the BMC and BEST were capable of sorting out their own problems. The BEST, which is facing huge losses, had sought bank loans to pay the salaries for the month of February.
