Journalism of Courage
‘Should have space to walk’: Court refuses to halt Safe Footpath Campaign in Bengaluru
A PIL had claimed that the scope of the Safe Footpath Campaign of the Greater Bengaluru Authority has not been defined.
The Karnataka High Court said the trial court ignored or misread significant evidence in the case. (File Photo)
Observing that pedestrians must have adequate space to walk on footpaths, the Karnataka High Court Friday refused to stay the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA)’s Safe Footpath Campaign, as sought by an urban strategist.
Responding to petitioner R Rajgopalan’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K S Hemalekha said, “In so far as the Safe Footpath Campaign is concerned, it is designed to ensure that pedestrians can walk on footpaths and not be obstructed; we find no grounds to interdict the said campaign.”
Appearing in person, Rajgopalan argued that the campaign is being executed incoherently and its scope has not been defined. He said, “The way the clearing of the footpaths is done is an issue and follow-up on the clearance is also an issue.”
To which, the bench said, “All it (the order) says (is that) pedestrians should have space to walk by clearing footpaths.”
While announcing the campaign, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda had said, “The Supreme Court had clearly stated that the right to walk on a footpath is a fundamental right of every citizen, and had directed all local bodies across states to implement this.”
Citing traffic police data, the minister had said 30 per cent of every 1,000 road accident deaths reported in Bengaluru are pedestrians.
Meanwhile, Rajgopalan had also sought proper implementation of the Street Vendors Act, 2014, and the scheme framed under the Karnataka Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules, 2019, in a time-bound manner.
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The bench issued notice to the state government and the GBA on this limited prayer and directed them to file a status report on the current implementation of the Act and Rules.
The court stated that the “status report… be filed within four weeks from today.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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