Judicial hump

A protest rally against the High Court order banning the plying of rickshaws in Chandni Chowk. - ANU PUSHKARNA

The High Court bans rickshaws in the old Delhi area on the ground that rickshaw-pulling is against human dignity.

CYCLE rickshaw operators in the National Capital Region are dismayed at the Delhi High Court ruling of September 6 ordering a complete ban on rickshaw traffic in Chandni Chowk in old Delhi.

The court also barred the issue of new licences to rickshaws and called for a review of the policy that allows licence to be issued to a rickshaw owner as opposed to a "rickshaw puller". It said it issued the directives in the interest of rickshaw pullers. The ruling marks the culmination of a series of extraordinary verdicts by the court beginning May 17. The court objected to the plying of rickshaws in the national capital on the grounds that rickshaw pulling was against human dignity and resulted in the exploitation of poor rickshaw pullers by powerful and influential "mafias", and that the unregulated plying of rickshaws caused congestion and inconvenience to the city's commuters. It directed that all "arterial roads in the MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] area be strictly prohibited from plying the cycle rickshaws" and ordered the MCD to take strict legal action against violators.

The court's contentions have not gone unchallenged. Many activists and urban planners are surprised that an ecologically sensitive, zero-emission, employment-generating, noise-free, and safe mode of transport has become the subject of judicial ire. "It is estimated that the cycle rickshaw saves over one crore motorised trips in Delhi every day, and over 10 crore trips across the country," says Nalin Sinha, programme director for the Initiative for Transportation and Development Programmes, a transport policy research organisation.

"This has several benefits such as oil conservation, emission reduction and employment." Nalin points out that the court orders have been passed without providing any detailed studies, cost-benefit analyses or alternative arrangements. The emphasis on exploitation and mafias suggests ignorance of how cycle rickshaws and mafias actually operate.

The plying of cycle rickshaws in Delhi is governed by the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Cycle Rickshaw) By-Laws, 1960. These laws restrict the number of cycle rickshaws in Delhi to 99,000 spread over clearly demarcated zones and mandate that each rickshaw puller and rickshaw carry a licence issued by the MCD. In the normal case, any individual can own only one rickshaw and cannot hire or sub-let one for plying; however, special categories such as widows and the disabled can own up to five rickshaws. Thus, the laws are designed to limit the number of rickshaws and ensure that rickshaw ownership is controlled. The laws also mandate that any rickshaw operating without a licence should be confiscated by the MCD, crushed, and sold as metal scrap.

Rickshaws are the only vehicles that are subjected to such tight ownership and licensing control. No such regulations exist for the plying of private vehicles, in spite of these being the primary cause of traffic congestion in Delhi. The inadequate number of licences (89,429 have been issued) and the growing demand for point-to-point connectivity have led many persons to operate illegal or quasi-legal rickshaws.

The latest estimates placed before the court suggest that Delhi has between four and six lakh unlicensed rickshaws. Most of the rickshaws are owned by rickshaw operators, who lease out the vehicles to licensed pullers. To call them mafias would be an overstatement.

Shashi Bhushan Sharma, a rickshaw operator in Chandni Chowk, operates a hundred cycle rickshaws from his rickshaw stand. Bhushan explains that the very nature of the rickshaw sector makes it difficult to adhere to MCD rules. "The reason why most rickshaw pullers do not own their vehicles is that they migrate from the villages twice a year. Rickshaw licences are not transferable, and so it makes little sense to own a rickshaw outright."

Most rickshaw pullers come during interludes in the farming season, have stable arrangements with rickshaw operators and rent the vehicles for Rs.20 a day. In return, the rickshaw operator is responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle, renewal of its licence, repair in case of accidents and safe-keeping. The operators also protect rickshaw pullers from the predatory police force and pay the fines when the rickshaws are impounded or confiscated. Thus, it would be simplistic to view the relationship between the rickshaw pullers and operators as purely exploitative.

Rickshaw pullers see the High Court observations on their profession as an affront.

Suraj Lal, a rickshaw puller in Chandni Chowk, admits that rickshaw pulling is hard and tiring work, but points out that there is no dishonour in working hard for a living. He wonders how hard, honest labour could be considered demeaning. "After all we are working to feed our children. We are not stealing or cheating."

Geetam Tiwari, Associate Professor at the Transport-Related Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), IIT, Delhi, points out that the issue of cycle rickshaws is indicative of the larger neglect of non-motorised transport. Studies conducted by his department suggest that congestion is caused primarily because of the differing relative speeds of traffic on Delhi's roads, and can be solved by physically segregating the different modes of transport.

Thus, physically demarcating lanes for motorised, non-motorised and public transport would reduce congestion in a far better and cheaper way than expensive flyovers, underpasses and toll-roads. TRIPP is engaged in a pilot project that aims to build these lane barriers on a 15-km stretch in one of Delhi's busiest areas and is seeking to expand the project all over Delhi. Tiwari points out that most arterial roads have enough space for a dedicated bicycle and cycle-rickshaw lane. All that it requires is the vision to implement it - a vision that is lacking in most government planners.

Delhi Masterplan 2021 claims to lay great emphasis on non-polluting means of transport such as bicycles and rickshaws and mass transit systems, but fails to provide anything apart from grand declarations. In contrast to international safety guidelines, the Masterplan envisages arterial roads free of cycle tracks, while providing separate cycling lanes on local and colony-level streets. Tiwari points out that dedicated cycle tracks are required primarily on arterial roads, where traffic speeds exceed 30 kilometres per hour, and dismisses the idea of separate lanes for cycles inside colonies as laughable.

The court rulings seem to take no cognisance of the complexity of the cycle rickshaw issue. The present ruling on arterial roads will not stop rickshaws from plying these paths - it will only increase police persecution of rickshaw pullers.