Members of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking committee walked out of a meeting on Monday, citing the lackadaisical attitude of the administration towards the payment of bills worth ₹561 crore that the undertaking owes to Tata Power Corporation (TPC).
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Committee members were enraged as deputy general manager R.J. Singh verbally notified them about the issue at the start of the meeting.
“These bills have been pending for the last five months, but not once has the administration notified the committee. If Tata Power cuts the electricity, the committee will be held responsible,” Ashish Chemburkar, corporator from Shiv Sena, said.
Bharatiya Janata Party corporator Sunil Ganacharya wanted to know why unpaid bills have been pending for months. “Every few months, the committee finds out about different unpaid dues because the administration is not open about its finances. Now when the issue is out in the open, the administration should at least give us a concrete plan about how it plans to pay off the outstanding amount,” he said. The BEST is yet to pay gratuity to thousands of retired workers and also owes the State government ₹500 crore on account of passenger tax.
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Corporators urged the administration to act fast so that the 10 lakh customers of the island city do not face a ‘black Tuesday’. The undertaking had received a letter from the TPC on May 14 demanding that the payment of the dues be made by May 21.
Mr. Singh said they had written to the TPC asking it not to cut supply on Tuesday and stating that the first tranche of payment will be done by the end of the week. The two agencies have a long term power purchase agreement wherein the TPC supplies 676 Mw of power.
BEST officials said the cumulative losses of the transport division has been contributing to the problem. “Even though the two departments function separately, the bank accounts are common. It is not that simple to delink the two,” a BEST official said. On an average, the transport wing incurs a loss of approximately ₹70 crore a month.
Last week, after a meeting with the Municipal Commissioner, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced a ₹100 crore monthly grant to the BEST’s transport division. Officials said once the grant impacts the electricity division, the day-to-day operations of the transport wing will be secured. The BMC, however, declined to provide assistance to pay the TPC. Officials said the BEST will need to take a loan to make the initial payment.