Bus manufacturer pulled up

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up Ashok Leyland for running way behind schedule for supplying low-floor buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up Ashok Leyland for running way behind schedule for supplying low-floor buses to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

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The court has warned the company of cancelling its contract.

A division bench of Justices Vikramjit Sen and Manmohan Singh said: “We have to look for alternatives if Ashok Leyland is not able to fulfil the order.”

The court’s stern remarks came after Ashok Leyland’s counsel Sandeep Narain said 203 buses were available for delivery but the DTC was not taking them.

DTC counsel Sumit Pushkarna told the court that these buses would not be taken before they pass the prescribed safety tests. The transport corporation has to get a total of 3,124 low-floor buses in order to phase out the privately owned Blueline buses from the Capital's roads by March.

DTC’s counsel informed the court that Ashok Leyland should have provided 875 buses till date but the number of buses supplied stands at 60.

Observing that speeding was the chief reason for accidents by Blueline buses, the court said the drivers were forced to make maximum number of trips in a day under the present system for maximum revenue.

“Problems can be ameliorated once the State Transport Authority fixes a ceiling or cap on the number of trips permissible,” it said.