Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has upheld the Assam govt’s decision to convert two key Guwahati routes — Khanapara-Dharapur and Basistha-Amingaon — into “Green Routes”, paving the way for phasing out diesel city buses on those corridors.Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, in a judgment pronounced on Tuesday, dismissed a petition filed by the Metropolitan Transport Association, Guwahati, challenging the Regional Transport Authority’s (RTA) decision to withdraw diesel buses from the routes and require operators to either switch to electric or CNG vehicles or shift to 10 alternative routes.Senior govt advocate D Nath told the court that declaring the routes as Green Routes was a policy decision taken by the state cabinet at its meeting on Aug 20, 2021, aimed at making Guwahati free from carbon emissions. He said that, in furtherance of that decision, the RTA initiated steps to gradually phase out diesel-operated city buses from the routes.The bus operators argued that the RTA lacked jurisdiction to declare the routes as Green Routes and could not compel operators holding valid permits to abandon their routes without following statutory procedure. They also challenged the absence of a formal govt notification implementing the cabinet decision.Rejecting the arguments, the court held that the cabinet decision was a policy decision. It noted that the issue was later discussed in meetings involving the Transport Department, ASTC, the RTA and stakeholders. The court found no violation of natural justice, observing that representatives of bus owners participated in RTA meetings and were given the options of converting their buses to electric or CNG, or shifting to alternative routes.The court noted that the dispute initially involved 200 buses but had narrowed to about 50 bus owners.The court also referred to an earlier division bench order that observed the Green Routes were not restricted to state-owned buses and would be open to all CNG and electric buses. That finding was not challenged and had attained finality.“Finding no merit in the case”, the court dismissed the petition. It, however, granted the bus operators liberty to approach the appropriate forum over a separate grievance concerning permit fees.
