Oct. 19: Dispur’s move to introduce new colours for mini city buses has hit a hurdle as the deluxe bus owners have opposed the decision.

The bus owners under the banner of Greater Guwahati Deluxe Express City Bus Service Owners’ Association have also moved court challenging the government notification.

An official of the state department said the state transport department had issued an official notification in August directing owners of city buses to change over to the new colour code, prescribed by the department, before September 30 but it could not be enforced as the matter has now become sub judice.

“After the association recently filed a petition at Gauhati High Court opposing the government order, a single judge bench of B.K. Sarma directed the government to maintain status quo till October 30 when the next hearing on the case has been scheduled,” the official said.

The court also asked government to furnish an affidavit on this matter.

The official claimed that the government has a strong case in its hands as the transport authority is empowered to prescribe colours for the city buses.

One of the main objectives behind this move is to ensure that each and every city bus is repainted before the National Games to be held here in February next year. The move, it is hoped, will also enhance the aesthetic appeal of city buses. According to the new guidelines, the body of the city buses will have to be painted in white, with two parallel stripes along the length of the bus dividing the vehicle into two equal parts.

In case of mini city buses, the colour of the stripes will be green while for the deluxe buses the stripes will be navy blue.

The present colour of mini buses is cherry red with off-white stripes while that of deluxe buses is white with light blue stripes .

General secretary of the association, Tapash Kumar Mishra, said they had no option but to move court after their repeated pleas to the government went unheard.

The association had submitted memoranda on this issue to chief secretary, additional chief secretary, transport commissioner and secretary of regional transport authority.

Mishra said the new colour code is unnecessary and will make it difficult for the passengers to distinguish between a mini city bus and a deluxe bus.

“We are ready to go for repainting but we oppose the government’s decision to change the colour of the buses. To change the colour, the bus owner will have to spend a minimum of Rs 20,000 while the repainting of the existing colour will require around Rs 10,000,” he said.

Of a total 1,131 city buses in the city, around 250 are deluxe buses.