HC quizzes city govt on its transport policy, DTC buses

The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the city government to file before it the existing public transport policy and the suitable number of buses required for the city in the current scenario.

A bench of acting chief justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru asked Delhi government counsel Sumeet Pushkarna to inform it by July 25 about the public transport policy while hearing a PIL seeking a complete phase-out of killer blueline buses from the city roads.

The bench’s direction came after senior Advocate Kailash Vasudev, who is assisting the court in the matter, raised objection.

He said that the government is planning to allow the blueline bus operators by giving alternative routes in outer Delhi as part of their rehabilitation plan.

He also said there is no transport policy and the government is likely to allow blueline operators to run 24 seater mid-size buses in some parts of the city.

Appearing for Delhi Transport department, counsel Pushkarna submitted that as per the existing policy, the public and private participation ratio is 60:40 and as a part of rehabilitation of the operators, the government has to allow the operators to ply their buses.

Answering the bench’s query on why DTC can’t run its buses, the lawyer in turn said DTC is running 6,000 low-floor buses in the city and the long-body buses cannot enter and take tuns in narrow roads in some areas.

The bench then asked the counsel to file an affidavit by the next date of hearing the existing policy explaining the safeguards the operators have to follow while plying their buses in the city and also the number of buses required for the city.