'Increasing bus fleet size by 2012 difficult'

The NCT Government says it would be difficult to increase the fleet size so quickly and that it would approach the court again seeking more time.

In the wake of the Delhi High Court directives on phasing out Blue Line buses by 2012, the NCT Government on Friday said it would be difficult to increase the fleet size so quickly and that it would approach the court again seeking more time.

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"We will approach the court if we face difficulties," Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf told reporters after a meeting with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on the matter.

The Court had on Thursday directed the city government and the state-run Delhi Transport Corporation to purchase 3,000 buses within three months for phasing out of private Blueline buses by 2012.

"The high capacity bus corridor will be a reality by next month and we are already working towards increasing the fleet size. By September the new modern low floor buses will start arriving," he said.

"We will do whatever the court has directed us to do, but there might be problems as there are only two companies manufacturing these buses and importing them from countries like China is very expensive," the minister said.