Govt spares the rod for Tata Motors and ALL

Deadline For Delivery Of Buses Likely To Be Extended Beyond June 30

COMMERCIAL vehicle makers, including Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, may just escape being penalised by the urban development ministry for not meeting their deadline, a ministry official told SundayET on condition of anonymity.
    The two companies had procured bulk of the orders to supply buses to Indian cities under a government scheme by June 30.
    With many urban local bodies likely to impose penalties for non-delivery of the buses by June 30, there is a possibility of an erosion of profits for these auto makers if the government does not extend the deadline. Both Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland, who have together received orders of about 8,000 buses—roughly the size of their current inventory—can't use that stock alone.
    Many urban local bodies gave different specifications for the buses like low-floor AC, semi-low floor AC or non-AC, which have forced the manufacturers to make alterations. There were attempts to sell buses made out of the existing truck chassis, disclosed some officials in the ministry on condition of anonymity.
    SundayET first reported on February 22, 2009 that Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland would be the two major beneficiaries of a government decision to buy about 15,000 buses under an economic stimulus package.
    In fact, these two auto makers have now demanded an extension of deadline to September 30 so that they would be able to produce buses according to specifications demanded in the order, an urban development official said.
    The government in its announcement had promised to provide assistance to 63 cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) if the delivery of buses takes place before June k30.
    When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesman said that orders would be met according to the terms and conditions with the state governments. "We have so far got about 50% of the total orders," the spokesperson said.
    He further said that most of the buses that would be delivered by Tata Motors are Marcopolo models, and hence there isn't any possibility of fitting bus bodies on truck chassis. An Ashok Leyland spokesperson, however, refused to comment on the matter.
    john.sarkar@timesgroup.com 

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