According to the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, it will only relinquish its Kala Killa and Dharavi bus depots for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) if alternative land is made available close to the current depots.
The ambitious proposal to revitalise Asia's largest slum includes the two depots, which can house 288 buses in total. The decision was made earlier this year, according to media reports. A senior BEST official said that they are waiting for a piece of land where a different depot can be built. It would need to have a capacity that is 1.5 times that of the current ones and be close to Dharavi and Kala Killa, which are both in the greater Dharavi region of Mumbai.
One of the biggest bus depots in Mumbai is located in Dharavi. 125 buses can be stored at the Kala Killa depot, compared to 163 at the Dharavi depot. Because it would require storing a lot of buses, officials indicated that turning over these depots without a backup location would be a major problem. The state government is expected to approach the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to request land for a casting yard for the city's metro rail projects, according to sources.
In order to turn over these two bus terminals for the multi-crore Dharavi redevelopment, the BEST is anticipated to get about ₹50 crore. There is still uncertainty in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project's master plan, but BEST sources say they have been informed that the two bus depots will be used to relocate slum people and commercial enterprises.
A senior BEST Union leader said that they disagreed to hand over these two bus depots for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project for the aforementioned reason. Both of these depots are essential to their position in terms of operations. Navigating the various bus routes across the city and the eastern and western suburbs is made easier by the location in the heart of Mumbai. If the depots are utilised to improve the city's transport system, there won't be any issues. However, in this instance, it is unacceptable to tear down existing infrastructure for a slum redevelopment project.
In the meantime, the BEST has planned in its FY 2025–2026 budget to increase its fleet to 8,000 buses, and these depots will be essential to that expansion. Three or four depots have also been highlighted by the project as being refurbished soon, complete with multi-level parking facilities, commercial stores, and shopping malls.
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