“Streets, footpath cleared for VVIPs, why not for everyone?” says Bombay High Court

The prime minister and other VVIPs may have their streets and walkways cleaned for them on a one-day basis; why can’t everyone else have everyday access to them as well? the Bombay High Court stated on Monday.

A split bench consisting of Justices M S Sonak and Kamal Khata held that having a safe place to walk and a clear pathway constituted everyone’s fundamental right and that the state authorities had a duty to provide it.

According to the bench, the state needs to act quickly to address the issue of unauthorised vendors encroaching on municipal sidewalks. It can no longer afford to wait around for solutions.

Last year, the high court raised the matter of unauthorised and unlawful hawkers and sellers in the city suo moto (on its own).

The bench stated on Monday that although it is aware of the scope of the issue, the state and other authorities—including the civic body—must take immediate action.

“When the prime minister or some VVIPs come, the streets and footpaths are immediately cleared…and it stays so till they are here. How is it done then? Why can’t it be done for everyone else? Citizens are ratepayers…they need to have a clear footpath and safe place to walk,” the court said.

“Footpath and a safe place to walk is a fundamental right. We tell our children to walk on footpaths but if there is no footpath left to walk on, what do we tell our children?” the court asked.

It stated that the government had been claiming to be working on the problem for years.

“The state needs to take immediate action. It can’t be that the government is always pondering what to do and trying to figure it out. Since there is always a method where there is a will, it appears that there isn’t enough of it, the high court stated.

In representing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), senior attorney SU Kamdar stated that although these vendors and hawkers are periodically targeted for action, they continue to operate.

He added the idea of underground markets was something the BMC was also thinking about.

Then the business was actually trying to bury the matter underground, the court joked.

The bench stated that because these vendors/hawkers make more money each day, the fine that civic organisations imposed on them was meaningless.

“To them, your fine is little. The supreme court declared, “They will pay and depart.”

In order to prevent them from disobeying orders and returning with their booths, the court recommended that the BMC create a database that would identify each of these hawkers.

“Permit a combing operation to occur. Start with just one street; identifying is the main challenge. It remarked, “They return again and time again because they are unidentifiable.

On July 22, the court scheduled a follow-up hearing on the case.

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