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A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice A S Anand, Justice B N Kirpal and Justice V N Khare adjourned the hearing on vehicular pollution till March 23, asking all the parties concerned to file status reports in the form of an affidavit stating steps taken by them to implement the court's July 28, 1998 order, fixing the deadline.
The court asked the Delhi government to give certain clarification on its unqualified stand that CNG was the fuel of tomorrow, which was in contrast to its earlier stand in which the delay in conversion was blamed on the fact that CNG was a technology still in the experimental stage.
The court also asked the Delhi administration to state in an affidavit the dates on which it had publicised its July 28, 1998 order to put all concerned on guard.
The Delhi Transport Corporation, private bus operators and public schools using buses were also asked to file affidavits about their preparedness to meet the situation.
The court passed the order after hearing Solicitor General Harish Salve appearing as an amicus curiae, Additional Solicitor General Kirit Rawal for Delhi government, senior counsel M L Verma for DTC and senior counsel K K Venugopal for private bus operators.
Earlier, Rawal explained to the court the difficulties being faced by the Delhi government in meeting the deadline.
He asked the Court to pass such an order, which may be in the interest of the commuters, numbering between five to six million, who were dependent on public transport.
The court also regretted that so far, orders for CNG buses covered only 25% of the DTC's requirement, and 10% that of private operators.
UNI
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