With the position of General Manager (GM) lying vacant for almost a month, a leadership crisis has gripped Mumbai’s Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. The vacancy arose after the transfer of previous GM Anil Diggikar (IAS:1990:MH) about a month ago. The lack of a full-time boss is affecting several activities, especially those related to long-term policies. To exacerbate the situation, not many IAS officers want to become the GM of BEST due to tricky financial complications. 

It is not that the government didn’t try to fill the vacancy. Rather, after Diggikar’s transfer, the government appointed senior IAS officer Harshdeep Kamble (IAS:1997:MH) as the BEST’s General Manager, but his posting order was surprisingly cancelled before he could assume the role. Sources say Kamble was reportedly reluctant to take charge as the BEST’s GM.

Sources reveal that the financial challenges faced by BEST have made the GM position unattractive to many IAS officers. BEST, a loss-making organization, is plagued by a severe shortage of funds, increasing operational and staff costs, and mounting financial losses. Addressing these challenges requires a visionary leader capable of implementing transformative strategies—an immense responsibility that deters potential candidates.

The situation is further complicated by the lack of new capital for buying new buses.  Further, despite rising operational costs, the failure to increase bus fares for several years has resulted in a heavy reliance on funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).