Former minister and Mumbai Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad has criticized the state of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, taking to social media to demand its complete revival under public ownership.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 2, Gaikwad highlighted serious concerns about the management and privatisation of Mumbai’s lifeline public transport system.Gaikwad expressed outrage at the lack of accountability, pointing out that it has been 23 days since the Kurla BEST bus mishap with no updates from the investigation committee. She also noted that the transport body has been functioning without boss for several days, further exacerbating operational inefficiencies.
The Congress leader criticized the wet lease privatization model, calling it a “failed experiment” that has led to a sharp decline in the quality, reliability, and safety of BEST services. She cited rising incidents of bus breakdowns, accidents, and worker exploitation as symptoms of a deeply flawed system.“More than 31 lakh Mumbaikars rely on BEST daily—it is an affordable lifeline for the city’s most vulnerable. But instead of supporting this essential service, those in power continue to undermine and destroy it. This is criminal neglect,” Gaikwad posted.
The Congress leader accused the government of prioritizing the interests of contractors over public welfare. She demanded the immediate scrapping of the wet lease model and the reinstatement of BEST as a wholly public entity. Gaikwad also called for increased funding from the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure BEST services are affordable, reliable, and safe for citizens.
“BEST must be wholly managed, operated, and run by the public entity itself. If this government and BMC can spend thousands of crores on haphazard beautification projects and provide viability gap funding for Metro projects, it can certainly fund the revival of BEST,” she asserted.
Gaikwad’s call for action has reignited public debate on the state of Mumbai’s transport infrastructure, with many commuters voicing similar concerns. Critics of the wet lease model argue that privatization has prioritized profits over public service, leaving millions of daily commuters in the lurch.
The BEST undertaking, a crucial mode of transport for Mumbaikars, has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including financial instability, reduced fleet size, and declining service quality.
