Disabled-friendly transport: HC disapproves of AAP govt's approach

The Delhi High Court today castigated the AAP government for its "blinkered" approach towards ensuring disabled friendly public transportation in the national capital, saying procurement of low floor buses will not help if bus stops are inaccessible.

"Such a blinkered approach. What is the point of getting low floor buses (LFBs), if roads and bus stops are not disabled friendly," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.

The observation by the court came when the Delhi government said it was going to get 500 LFBs soon, as part of the first batch of the proposed procurement of 2,000 such vehicles, and was also exploring the possibility of installing mechanical lifts in standard floor buses (SFBs) to enable wheelchair-borne passengers to board them.

The Delhi government said there was a "dire need" for the buses in the city and, therefore, it needed permission to procure of 1,000 electric SFBs for which tenders were issued and successful bidders have been finalised.

The high court, by a June 1 order, had put on hold the procurement of standard floor buses.

The Delhi government, represented by additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose, told the court that it has spoken to Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, which were manufacturing the SFBs, about installing lifts in these buses, and Tata will have a prototype ready by September this year.

The court, however, asked, "Why only Tata or Ashok Leyland, when there may be several other players? Why not consider a global tender? Your tenders are so unworkable, why not change that?"