The Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Delhi police for their opinion that “allowing cycle-rickshaws to ply on the Capital’s arterial roads will come in the way of the efforts to make Delhi a world class city.”
The police apprised the Court of their opinion on the plying of cycle-rickshaws in the city in an affidavit filed in reply to a petition by non-government organisation ‘Manushi’ on the draft cycle-rickshaw policy of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Making sharp observations on the approach of the police on plying cycle-rickshaws in the Capital, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Justice A.P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar asked whether the rickshaw-pullers had no right to live in a city of world class. The Bench further exclaimed, “Whether the rickshaw-pullers are responsible for all the ills plaguing the city like unauthorised colonies and slums.”
“The affidavit reflected the low esteem in which the police held the city’s rickshaw-pullers,” the Bench observed.
Commenting on the language of the affidavit where the rickshaw-pullers were charged with littering the city, the Bench said that “it is not expected from a public authority and there could be nothing more shocking than this.”
The affidavit said that allowing cycle-rickshaws to ply on the arterial roads would certainly not contribute to the vision of making Delhi a world class city. Instead, it would make Delhi like any other ‘mofussil’ town, the affidavit added.
“The rickshaw-puller lives on the pavement, rests in his rickshaw, eats and washes himself on the pavement which not only causes strain on the civic infrastructure of the city but also encourages them to develop unauthorised colonies or jhuggies giving rise to social problems in the city,” the affidavit charged.
The affidavit also drew the attention of the Court to slowing down of the speed of fast-moving traffic due to plying of cycle-rickshaws on arterial roads.
