Report of correspondent of Kamgar Ekta Committee
BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking) is the city transport service for Mumbai city and suburbs. It is run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). It is a vital means of transport of people for the city and its suburbs. However, BMC has been taking one step after another to privatise it.
Bus services have been reduced, even while there is need for its expansion given the growth of the city and its population. In 2011, BEST had its own fleet of about 4,700 buses. It used to transport 42-45 lakh passengers daily using this fleet. There is need for a fleet of 12,000 buses to take care of the increased requirement today. However, BEST today operates only around 2800 buses. As a result, only about 25 lakh people can use BEST buses daily now. Out of these 2800 buses, BEST owns only around 250 buses. BEST has hired the rest of the buses on wet lease from private bus owners. (Under wet lease, the bus is leased along with the driver to BEST for a fee.)
In another move to privatise and destroy BEST, the BMC has decided to monetise the land of 22 bus depots (about 126 hectares). These depots are used for parking the buses, when not in operation and for the maintenance of buses. The land on which these depots are situated is very valuable. The plan is to hand over the land on long lease for “redevelopment”. This will include commercial real estate and some “social infrastructure” such as schools, hospitals, art museums, theatres, sport centres and cultural centres. Additionally, “public parking” facilities for 36,000 cars will be built.
According to some reports, 126 hectares of land could yield a revenue of Rs 5,000 – 6,000 crores. In April 2023, the BEST announced it would be taking aid from the International Finance Corporation, an arm of the World Bank, to monetise its depots.
The government is trying to fool the people by stating that land ownership will remain with the BEST, and the depots are being leased, and that “social infrastructure” like schools, hospitals, etc. will be created on these lands. Citizens of Mumbai know that this is all an eyewash: the government is handing over the land to builders and real estate developers who will make maximum profit from this land.
It is important to recollect that big monopoly corporate groups like Tata, Adani, Godrej, Birla have entered the field of real estate development in Mumbai along with builder corporates like Lodha, Hiranandani, Raheja, Oberoi. They are eying every government land, whether used by port, railways, BMC for profiting by developing real estate.
Over the last few decades, the BMC has been run by all the major capitalist parties of Maharashtra at some time or the other. The privatisation of BEST has been pursued by all of them by first starving it of funds for operation and expansion. Ageing buses were not replaced to justify privatisation through wet leasing.
Once depots are monetised, BEST will have no place available to park and maintain its buses. This will then be used to justify completely destroying the BEST public transport system in Mumbai.
Monetisation of BEST land is not a means to rescue BEST from its crisis, as claimed. On the contrary, the crisis in BEST has been created, and the bus system has been systematically dismantled, to prepare the ground for monetising land and completely privatising BEST.
More than 20 organizations have come together under the banner of ‘Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST’ (Our Mumbai Our BEST) to oppose the privatisation of the BEST and the monetisation of its land. They have held several protests to demand the reversal of privatisation and the enhancement of public road transport in Mumbai city.
They have put forward the following demands:
- The proposal to hand over BEST land to private players must be immediately reversed.
- The wet-lease system should be scrapped immediately
- BEST should increase its fleet to at least 10,000 buses that it owns and operates.
- The BMC must ensure funding for BEST to run efficiently and to clear its deficits.
Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) fully supports the struggle of the working people of Mumbai against privatisation of BEST. KEC demands that the BMC increase its investment in public transport in order to make local travel affordable and comfortable for the working people of Mumbai.