Plea to operate public transport in Delhi: HC seeks Centre, AAP govt stand

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Centre and AAP government on a plea seeking operation of public transportation in the national capital during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

A bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi government, Delhi Transport Corporation and Delhi metro seeking their stand on the plea by May 20.

The petition, by a law student, has contended that while the Centre and Delhi government allowed government and private establishments to function and also permitted use of cars and two-wheelers, they forgot that a large number of people in the national capital rely on public transportation to commute to work.

The petition has sought that public transportation be allowed to operate in the national capital "in strict compliance with social distancing and disinfection or sanitation norms".

This would ensure that the Centre's decision to allow government and private offices would not adversely affect that portion of the population which does not have private vehicles, the plea by Shreesh Chadha said.

Besides operation of public transportation, the plea also seeks framing of guidelines "to ensure safety and hygiene of passengers and public transport operators".

It also seeks direction to DTC and Delhi metro to set up thermal scanning units and other necessary equipment to ensure only Covid-19 negative passengers are commuting via public transport.