Best Electric Bus Contract Evey Trans Subsidy Dispute

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has attributed the non-disbursal of subsidies for electric buses supplied under its 2,100-bus contract to the failure of wet-lease operator Evey Trans to submit the requisite documents.

A senior BEST official said Olectra Greentech’s subsidiary, Evey Trans, had not furnished the mandatory bank guarantees required for receiving subsidies from the state government through BEST.

“Despite delivering 686 electric buses over the past four years, Evey Trans has submitted bank guarantees for only 10 buses. Accordingly, the Undertaking has disbursed state government subsidies worth Rs 1.5 crore for those 10 buses,” the official said.

The Rs 3,675-crore contract was signed in 2022 and required Evey Trans to supply 2,100 electric buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model for a period of 12 years. Four years later, the contractor has supplied only 686 buses, amounting to 32.7% of the total order.

Recently, Evey Trans informed the Undertaking of its inability to continue deliveries of the remaining 1,414 buses under the contract, citing a dispute over subsidy disbursal.

“Under the original terms of the contract, Evey Trans was to receive a subsidy of Rs 15 lakh per bus from the state government through BEST. However, the company has so far received subsidies for only 10 of the 686 buses supplied, creating severe financial strain,” said a source familiar with the matter.

As a result, the company stated that it was not feasible to continue deliveries of the entire order as originally planned.

On the issue, BEST officials claimed that the Undertaking had repeatedly reminded Evey Trans both to expedite the supply of buses and to submit the necessary bank guarantee documents required for subsidy disbursal.

However, sources maintained that Evey Trans had fulfilled its contractual obligations by supplying 686 buses, all of which are currently operational on various routes across the city. Accordingly, they argued that the subsidy disbursal process should have already been initiated.

Separately, Evey Trans has confirmed that it will honour its 2024 agreement with BEST for the supply of 2,400 electric buses beginning in August 2026. So far, 50 buses have already been delivered under the contract.

In a revised rollout plan submitted to the Undertaking, the company said it intends to initially supply 50 buses per month before gradually increasing deliveries to 100 buses per month. The proposal does not include any subsidy component and is linked to the utilisation of charging infrastructure at BEST depots to support the operational requirements of the electric fleet.

The withdrawal from the earlier contract comes as a significant setback to BEST’s broader fleet expansion and electrification plans.

At present, the Undertaking operates a fleet of 2,802 buses, of which 47.7% are electric, while the remainder are primarily powered by CNG or diesel.

Against the backdrop of its target to expand its fleet strength to 7,000 buses by 2027, the Undertaking on Tuesday approved a proposal to induct 1,500 air-conditioned midi electric buses under the wet-lease model.

The buses will be procured from private contractors Sai Green Projects and Greencell Mobility at a per-kilometre rate of Rs 60.25 and are expected to enter service next year.

The procurement forms part of the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ PM E-Drive Scheme. With the addition of the new buses, BEST aims to strengthen feeder connectivity between railway stations, Metro corridors and other major transit hubs, improving last-mile connectivity across the city.