The Delhi high court on Monday refused to stay the city government's notification to phase out Blueline buses from the capital. A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the government has the power to take such decisions.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by federation of Blueline buses challenging Delhi government's decision to phase out the Blueline buses. The division bench, also comprising Justice Valmiki Mehta, asked the government to file its response within four weeks on the plea of Blueline operators.
The government had issued notification for phasing out of the buses on October 27. Earlier, a single bench of the high court had given a breather to Blueline operators plying their buses in South Delhi with an order that NCT government's notification for complete phase-out of the buses from city roads by December 14 will not apply to cluster-I.
The court had said that its March order allowing the blueline bus operators to ply their buses would continue till its further order and the October 27 notification would not apply to cluster one.
The government had in 2009 announced an ambitious cluster bus service scheme under which corporate entities were proposed to be given certain routes in the city on the pattern of cities like Paris and London.
About 1600 privately-owned blueline buses, including 264 buses which run in cluster-1, which are marked to be removed from Delhi roads, were taken off the roads ahead of the Commonwealth Games held earlier this month.
Over 1,000 new low-floor buses, which were used to ferry athletes and dignitaries during the Games, have now been included in DTC's fleet. DTC will also induct more buses in its fleet in the coming days, as per the notification.
South Delhi Blueline bus operators have alleged that the government has failed to procure the requisite number of new low-floor buses in place of Blueline buses for cluster 1 and taken an unreasonable decision to completely phase out 2400 buses without proper arrangement.