After the Bombay High Court slammed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over the state of the city’s footpaths, the civic body has decided to appoint NGOs to audit pavements to ensure they can be accessed by the differently abled.
In a recent hearing, the court ordered BMC to ensure that all footpaths are encroachment-free and accessible to those with disabilities. The bench also slammed BMC over the distance between bollards—short posts used to create a rotective or architectural perimeter—on footpaths, as at some places, they prove a hindrance to
wheelchairs.
A BMC road department official said, “We have invited tenders to appoint NGOs to ensure that the pedestrian-first policy is carried out. These NGOs will record the status and size of footpaths as well as hurdles and their accessibility to persons with disabilities.”
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One NGO will be appointed for each of the city’s seven zones. According to the tender document, the estimated cost of the project is around Rs 2 crore. This audit will take three years.
Meanwhile, Atul Vora who intervened in the suo-motu petition, said, “Why does the BMC need to conduct an audit? Hawking and non-hawking zones have already been demarcated. The BMC just needs to implement guidelines of the Supreme Court about hawkers. They are just wasting their time.”
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, a civic activist, said allocating taxpayers’ funds to this endeavour seems questionable, as it appears to be a mere formality rather than a genuine effort to address accessibility issues. “The prevalence of encroachments, illegal extensions and parking hindrances on footpaths, especially around railway stations, renders them unusable for both able-bodied individuals and those with disabilities. Rather than relying on NGOs, the BMC should consider implementing a comprehensive plan or design for footpaths and roads,” he said.
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