Delhi High Court allows government to purchase 500 buses

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The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed the state government to purchase 500 standard-floor buses that can ply on the city's outskirts where the roads are in poor condition.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao, however, said these buses should have hydraulic lifts, which will help the differently-abled people easily board and deboard.

The court dismissed the pleas of Nipun Malhotra, a differently-abled person, who has opposed government's decision to buy the buses.

Malhotra has contended that a standard-floor bus is not disabled-friendly, as they were mounted on a truck chassis, and their height made it difficult for the disabled to board the vehicle.

Malhotra's counsel Jai Dehadrai said he would challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, in its interim order on August 2, had allowed the Delhi government to purchase 500 standard-floor buses, out of the 1,000 proposed, to improve the woefully inadequate public transport system in the city.

The top court had left it for the high court to decide on the remaining 500 standard-floor buses.

The government has said the decision was taken considering the urgent need to augment the existing bus fleet, particularly on rural routes.

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