BEST fleet to have electric buses by 2028: Aaditya Thackeray

06 Oct 2021 CW Team

Environment Minister of Maharashtra Aaditya Thackeray told the media that the entire fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) would be an electric one.

The entire fleet of the BEST will include electric buses by 2028.

Thackeray said that the double-decker buses operated by the BEST would run on either hydrogen fuel cells or electrical energy, whichever is more suited.

He was speaking as a chairperson in a function at the BMC headquarters where the civic organisation inked a Memorandum of Understanding for three initiatives namely- Cities for Forests Campaign, Women for Climate and e-Bus Mission, under the Mumbai Climate Change action plan.

Thackeray said that for creating a progressive and eco-friendly Mumbai metropolis, rapid straps are being taken, and the three MOUs inked are vital.

Additionally, Thackeray said that the BMC had already executed several steps for the conservation and protection of the environment. Wet-dry waste sorting and planting of 2.5 lakh saplings under Mazi Vasundhara Abhiman for urban forestry in the past one-and-a-half years is part of it.

For rainwater conservation, drainage ditches must be dug around housing societies, government office premises, and wherever possible.

He said that the trees must be planted in the form of fences around transport islands, flyovers, and grounds.

Climate change is increasing, and all nations are facing it. In such a state, all political parties must come together and strive together for sustainable growth.

Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told the media that the government aims to achieve 15% public transport based on electric vehicles by 2025, but going beyond that, the corporation targets to make 50% of public transport based on electric vehicles by 2023.

The general manager of BEST, Lokesh Chandra, told the media that around 55 places are chosen in the metropolis to charge electric vehicles. More charging stations will be installed there in the coming 3 to 4 months by a public-private partnership. It will also allow the general public to charge their vehicles.

Image Source

Also read: ABB Group launches superfast Terra 360 modular charger

Environment Minister of Maharashtra Aaditya Thackeray told the media that the entire fleet of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) would be an electric one. The entire fleet of the BEST will include electric buses by 2028. Thackeray said that the double-decker buses operated by the BEST would run on either hydrogen fuel cells or electrical energy, whichever is more suited. He was speaking as a chairperson in a function at the BMC headquarters where the civic organisation inked a Memorandum of Understanding for three initiatives namely- Cities for Forests Campaign, Women for Climate and e-Bus Mission, under the Mumbai Climate Change action plan. Thackeray said that for creating a progressive and eco-friendly Mumbai metropolis, rapid straps are being taken, and the three MOUs inked are vital. Additionally, Thackeray said that the BMC had already executed several steps for the conservation and protection of the environment. Wet-dry waste sorting and planting of 2.5 lakh saplings under Mazi Vasundhara Abhiman for urban forestry in the past one-and-a-half years is part of it. For rainwater conservation, drainage ditches must be dug around housing societies, government office premises, and wherever possible. He said that the trees must be planted in the form of fences around transport islands, flyovers, and grounds. Climate change is increasing, and all nations are facing it. In such a state, all political parties must come together and strive together for sustainable growth. Mumbai municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told the media that the government aims to achieve 15% public transport based on electric vehicles by 2025, but going beyond that, the corporation targets to make 50% of public transport based on electric vehicles by 2023. The general manager of BEST, Lokesh Chandra, told the media that around 55 places are chosen in the metropolis to charge electric vehicles. More charging stations will be installed there in the coming 3 to 4 months by a public-private partnership. It will also allow the general public to charge their vehicles. Image SourceAlso read: ABB Group launches superfast Terra 360 modular charger

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Infrastructure Urban

12 Mar 2026

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..