Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Manufacturers Cited Shift In Emission Norm; Deadline for Bus Delivery to be Extended

The new fleet of over 600 low-floor buses that was scheduled to be in by June will now be delivered only by end August. The Delhi government on Monday extended the deadline for the manufacturers to deliver 625 buses to August 31.

The manufacturers Tata and Ashok Leyland cited the shift from Euro III to Euro IV norms as the reason for the delay. The Delhi cabinet, led by chief minister Sheila Dikshit, discussed the issue and studied the proposal submitted by the two companies. After deliberations, the cabinet also decided that the penalty for not meeting the June deadline will not be levied.

In the first round, 625 low-floor buses were brought in. This was followed by an order for another 2,500 buses. Of these, 1,800 buses are already in use while the rest are being added from time to time. Under the contract, the state government could place an order for 25% more buses and hence 625 more buses were sought by June.

With the June deadline over, the manufacturers were asked to explain the delay. On Monday, a proposal from the manufacturer citing the reasons for the delay and the plan of action for the coming months in the context of delivery of the 625 buses was presented before the cabinet for review and approval.

0 comments: