New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today
sought a detailed affidavit from Tata Motor and Ashok
Leyland, the supplier of low-floor buses, whether the company
would supply the required number of 3125 buses by March next
year for the city roads.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice
S Muralidhar passed the direction after the counsel for Delhi
government expressed government`s inability to completely
phase out Blueline buses before the dealine of March, 2010, as
the suppliers have revised the time schedule to supply the
low-floor buses.
The lawyer said the city has received only 666 buses
so far, out of which Tata Motor has supplied only 418 buses
and the rest by Ashok Leyland.
According to the counsel, the suppliers were seeking
more time and only 130 more buses will be supplied soon by
Tata Motor, which will raise to the strength of the fleet to
796.
Following the October 2008 Blueline bus accident in
which 8 people were killed in Badarpur area, the Bench had
taken suo motu cognisance and directed the city government to
frame guidelines for erring drivers, bus operators and the
owners for violating traffic rules.
The Court also directed the phase-out of Blueline
buses after which the city government had launched the
low-foor buses on the city roads last year.
-PTI
