PIL in HC to quash tender notification for procurement of buses with high floor height, Legal News, ET LegalWorld – Legal Firms

Chennai, A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea has been made in the Madras High Court to quash a notification of the Institute of Road Transport in Taramani for procurement of 1,107 Type-I buses with floor height of 900 mm for deployment in the city. The first bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, before which the writ petition from Vaishnavi Jayakumar of Chetpet, also co-founder of The Banyan, an organisation working for the health and mental health care of poor and homeless persons, came up for hearing, admitted it and ordered notice returnable in two weeks.

According to the petitioner, the government was once again attempting to procure buses, which are not accessible to the persons with disability. It is violative of various provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules and the Motor Vehicles Rules.

The authorities have failed to see that the buses with low floors with the height of 400 mm or a maximum of 650 mm with ramps/kneeling system/lifts alone should be procured. The buses proposed to be procured have the floor height of 900 mm, which was contrary to the mandatory prescription of AIS 153.

The disabled cannot have access to the buses of 900 mm floor height. The authorities have failed to note that the urban bus specifications issued by the Ministry of Urban Development clearly mandated that the cities having a population of more than one million should procure buses having the floor height of either 400 mm or 650 mm alone.

The tender issued now is in total violation of the orders of this High Court passed in 2016 and 2021 and that of the Supreme Court in 2017. It also violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the petitioner further contended. PTI COR KH KH