Don’t procure buses disabled can’t access: HC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has refused to give permission to the AAP government to procure standard floor buses for the national capital, stating that “directions of the Supreme Court have been flouted with impunity by the government of Delhi”.

The interim order is likely to throw a spanner in the Delhi government’s plan of adding 2,000 new buses to the city’s dying transport fleet this year onwards.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that procuring buses that are inaccessible to the disabled infracts the mandate of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

“Flouting the repeated directions of the Supreme Court is not only completely impermissible but also reflects callous apathy and gross indifference to environmental degradation as well as infringement of rights to the citizen of Delhi, under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the bench said.

Coming down heavily on the government in the capital, the court said that Delhi’s administration was bent upon treating the disabled as non-existent, or, in any case not having any rights.

“The respondents have not even conceptualised, let alone, bothered to take a single step toward ensuring accessible transport in Delhi,” it said.

The court’s 74-page interim order came while hearing a plea by disability activist Nipun Mal- hotra, who had challenged the tender for procurement of 1,000 buses by the Delhi government.

Malhotra, through his counsel Jai Dehadrai, had also challenged the move — which were to be rolled out within one year — claiming that it will deprive numerous persons with disabilities residing in Delhi, as well as senior citizens, from access to public transport.

The bench, while pulling up the Kejriwal government, said that the cabinet decision to buy 1000 standard floor buses was taken because no tender had been floated since 2011 and two global tenders which were floated had failed due to the high price.

Responding to the court order, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that a final decision regarding the matter was pending.

“It is just an interim order and the matter is still subjudice as the next date of hearing is on July 17. It is not a final judgment and the Delhi government is going pursue this case positively,” Gahlot said.