Mumbai: BEST employees will receive a Rs 33,000 Diwali ex gratia payment, but Friday’s confirmation triggered a political tussle within the undertaking between allies BJP and Shiv Sena over how the decision was announced.Like every year, unions of BEST employees had been pressing for a Diwali bonus, which was discussed at recent BEST committee meetings.Traditionally, the Diwali bonus for BEST employees is jointly announced by the BEST committee chairperson and general manager after formal approval. However, on Friday afternoon, BJP leader Prasad Lad met BEST general manager Sonia Sethi and later publicly announced at BEST Bhavan and through a tweet that employees would receive an ex gratia payment of Rs 33,000. In his tweet, Lad said “the decision followed discussions with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and sustained follow-up with the BEST administration”.Nitin Nandgaonkar, Shiv Sena (UBT) member in the committee, said: “This is not done. The BEST committee has cleared a bonus proposal for staffers and got a nod from BMC. Only the BEST panel chairperson can officially declare a bonus.”Lad’s move did not go down well with BEST committee chairperson Trushna Vishwasrao of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Expressing strong displeasure, she pointed out that no official announcement had yet been made by the BEST administration and reiterated that established procedures should be followed.As the controversy gathered momentum, Vishwasrao called a news conference later in the evening and formally announced that “22,654 BEST employees will receive a Diwali ex gratia payment of Rs 33,000 each on Nov 3, with the total burden of Rs 75 crore to the BEST undertaking”. She further said the decision was taken under the guidance of CM Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, providing festive relief to employees ahead of Diwali.For thousands of BEST employees and their families, the announcement means a brighter Diwali amid rising household expenses — and it is on a par with what has been given to municipal employees.A senior BEST official said: “With civic and political equations increasingly influencing Mumbai’s public bodies, Friday’s bonus announcement may be remembered as much for the politics behind it as for the festive gift itself.”
