BEST issues circular for outstanding bill

After the embarrassment of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) making last-minute changes in the budget on Friday, the undertaking’s administration has committed another blunder by issuing a circular (with this newspaper) for Electric House, its office, which states a bill of over Rs 11 lakh is pending.

BEST on Friday was involved in the biggest gaffe when the undertaking assumed that they would be getting a loan of Rs 355 crore from parent organisation, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to which, BMC standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse, who was present at the meeting, took objection at the very last moment. An irate Mr Phanse made it plain to BEST that assuming such a big amount would be granted as loan and building BEST’s budget around it was a huge oversight. An amount of Rs 11,29,680 was the power bill incurred by the undertaking’s Colaba-based Electric House office; the issue was raised by committee member Kedar Hombalkar in the committee meeting.

Asked about it, general manager Jagdish Patil said that the bill was generated as a mistake of the accounting department and no money was owed by BEST to itself. “Let’s be clear, this was a mistake and we will correct it. The money was just an error made by the accounting department and we will adjust it in the final accounts. We owe no outstanding bill,” said Mr Patil.

BEST’s two-day climax involving Mr Phanse occurred in the remaining few moments of presentation of the budget for 2016-17 on Nov. 19 and 20. This was the first time in the history of the organisation that such a last minute change in its books was made.