MUMBAI, Feb. 26 -- The classic fable 'The Paper Kite' best describes the BEST Undertaking today: fluttering downward, losing its ability to steer and maintain stability. A decade and a half ago, the Undertaking was a high-flying kite with a fleet of 4,700 buses ferrying an average of 350,000 passengers daily, supported by a strong staff base of 35,000 to 40,000 running the show. Fast forward to 2026: the strings controlling BEST have snapped, and there is a general feeling that neither political will nor bureaucratic interest exists to make it soar again. On Wednesday, at the BMC's Standing Committee Hall, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani presented a budget of a little over Rs.80,000 crore for 2026-27. Of this whopping amount, what BEST, whose parent organisation is BMC, got was a mere Rs.1,000 crore or 1.25% of the budget. Its hopeful pre-budget demand of Rs.2,357.38 crores-necessary to pay the pending dues of its retired employees and Rs.3,000 crores to meet its fiscal deficit-were utterly disregarded. Out of the 128 pages of the budget speech, only eight lines detailed the 'Financial Assistance to BEST Undertaking'. Since 2012-13, the Budget speech stated, the BMC had consistently supported BEST through financial assistance amounting to Rs.12,028.81 crore till January 2026. "Although the BMC has to meet substantial funding towards its ongoing projects and other important objectives, a total provision of Rs.1,000 crore is proposed in the BE (budget estimate) 2026-27 as a grant to BEST Undertaking, considering the financial position," the budget statement read. What is more appalling is that the BMC, in the previous financial year, also allocated Rs.1,000 crore to BEST, out of a total outlay of Rs.74,427 crore, which amounted to 1.35%. Although the absolute financial grant provided to BEST remains the same, there is a proportionate drop from the total kitty. One would argue that a mere 0.10% is just a drop in the ocean for as large an organisation as BEST. But consider this. BEST is staggering under a plethora of problems. Its own fleet is down to 249 buses out of a total fleet of over 2,600 buses, the majority of which are on wet lease. More than 4,000 retired employees have not been paid their dues amounting to nearly Rs.1,000 crore if not more. The Undertaking's accumulated deficit has crossed Rs.10,000 crore, the daily revenues from bus fares has come down to approximately Rs.2.5 crore while the daily passenger numbers have dropped to 23 lakh. Transport experts and members of BEST fan clubs criticise the lack of will, both political and bureaucratic, to keep BEST alive, calling this budget allocation sheer neglect. Just before the assembly elections in 2024, a storyboard was created, detailing how a common government-the BJP-Shiv Sena-at the helm of both the state and the city would change the fortunes of BEST. A year later, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, far from working to lift BEST out of the doldrums, asked it to find its own funds, to prepare a plan ensuring that 40% of its revenues came from 'non-fare box' sources. The Undertaking is already giving away its land bank-bus depots and staff quarters-to private developers. Investing in glorious expensive infrastructure projects will certainly make the city shiny but there is a need to look at global practices too. Cities in South America are working towards dedicated bus routes. In Mumbai, the Coastal Road has a provision for dedicated bus lanes, yet BEST operates only two bus routes on it. Global cities like London and New York have dedicated systems that compel citizens to use mass transit systems. However, here the idea of introducing a congestion fee for private vehicles on certain roads and business districts like Nariman Point and Bandra-Kurla Complex still remains on paper....