New Delhi, March 1 (IANS): Taking a step towards making public transport accessible to all, the Delhi Cabinet on Friday approved the installation of hydraulic lifts in 1,000 standard floor CNG buses in the city.

The Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, approved a proposal of the Department of Transport for reimbursement of incremental cost for fitment of hydraulic lifts in 1,000 standard floor CNG-propelled buses to the concessionaires.

"Sufficient modes of public transport are the only way to reduce air pollution in Delhi and bring down the number of vehicles on the roads to reduce congestion," the government said in a statement.

"The technology of fitment of lifts in standard floor buses is new to India. However a prototype of buses with hydraulic lifts for wheelchair-bound commuters has been prepared," the statement added.

The cabinet approved the proposal to allow reimbursement of the overall cost of fitment of lifts on 1,000 buses, at a benchmark cost of Rs 3,63,396 per bus, amounting to a total of Rs 36,33,96,000 to the concessionaires, it said.

"The reimbursement of the cost shall be made to the concessionaires, at the time of actual induction of buses subject to a supplementary agreement to be executed by the concessionaire with the department about the recovery of expenses incurred by government after taking into account the depreciation factor in the eventuality of termination of agreement," it added.

The decision to install hydraulic lifts in standard floor buses has been taken following the directions from the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, it said.

The Delhi government made a promise to bear the installation cost of lifts in 1,000 buses before the Supreme Court.