Delhi Transport Corporation Board gives nod to buy 500 new low-floor buses

New Delhi: Faced with the high court’s objections on procurement of standard floor buses, the Delhi government is moving ahead with the plan to add 500 low-floor buses to the fleet of the public transporter DTC. A meeting of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Board chaired by transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday approved a proposal to procure 500 low-floor buses.

The DTC Board also approved de-freezing pensionary benefits that will benefit 16,000 pensioners and their families. It also agreed to extending “concessional bus pass” facility to students of all bonafide institutes in the city.

“The (DTC) Board resolved to procure additional 500 low-floor buses including 80 per cent non-air conditioned and 20 percent air conditioned buses,” said a statement issued by transport minister’s office.

A proposal of the transport department to procure 1,000 buses each for DTC and Cluster scheme has run into rough weather with the Delhi High Court raising objection on them being not friendly to disabled people. The court earlier this month, stayed procurement of 2,000 standard floor buses by the government.

The Delhi government in its annual Budget had announced fund for procurement of 2,000 standard floor buses. However, it is not clear how the government will go about procuring additional 500 low-floor buses for DTC fleet. Efforts to approach Mr Gahlot for his comments elicited no reply.

However, government sources said that “revised budget estimate” could be brought for procurement of the 500 buses. The amount to be spend on this is yet to be ascertained, they said.

The de-freezed pensionary benefits include enhancement of DA after July 2014, increase in medical allowance from Rs 300 to 400 per month per pensioner after November 19, 2014, extension of the benefits on account of fixation and age factor and revision of pension as per recommendation of 7th Central Pay Commission effective from January 1, .2016, the statement said.