Representation for Pedestrians Rights

Common Cause brought the matter of pedestrians to the attention of the highest authorities in the hope that some action will be taken to safely stop the unusually high number of deaths and injuries due to accidents on Indian roads. We are reproducing the text of our representation to the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and other concerned authorities.

To,
Sh. Nitin Jairam Gadkari,
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways,
Room No. 501, Transport Bhawan,
1, Sansad Marg, New Delhi – 110 001,
E-mail: nitin.gadkari@nic.in;
Date: 13.03.2024

I am writing this letter to you on behalf of Common Cause, a civil society organization dedicated to articulating the common problems of the people and securing redress for them. We have been taking up public causes since 1980 through policy research, advocacy, and legal interventions.

We wish to bring to your notice the tragic deaths taking place in the country in general, and in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi in particular, due to the lack of proper facilities for pedestrians. Not a day passes without pedestrians losing their lives or getting seriously injured in avoidable road accidents on Delhi roads. The victims include children, senior citizens and even police officers doing their duty on the roads. Nothing seems to have changed in our attitudes after a 12-year-old girl – daughter of a fruit vendor - was mowed down recently by a school bus in South-East Delhi when she was trying to cross the road.1

As you know, Delhi has high volumes of pedestrian movement with 34% of all daily person trips being ‘walkonly’2 . Though pedestrians are the most vulnerable category of road users, a sizeable section of them belongs to socially vulnerable and disadvantaged groups such as children, elderly, disabled, pregnant women, daily wagers, and migrants, among others. The pedestrians too have a fundamental right to life and liberty (Article 21) and a right of free movement (Article 19). However, these rights are being denied to them owing to bad implementation of the policies protecting pedestrian rights, and the lack of accountability of the authorities implementing them.

We have found that the following are the major bottlenecks for walking in Delhi³:

Delhi Traffic Police analysis has found that 43% of the people killed in road accidents in Delhi in 2023 were pedestrians. The number of pedestrian deaths has increased to 622 in 2023 from 504 in 2021.⁴ In 2021, 93% of the deaths occurred among vulnerable road users (pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists and auto rickshaw occupants).⁵

I would like to draw your kind attention to a very compelling statistics – aptly called “Who-Hit-Whom Matrix” – in the ‘Delhi Road Safety Data to Action Report’6 published last year (20.01.2023) by the Transport Department, Delhi Govt. The Matrix – as the name suggests – shows how many people (falling under a particular category such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, etc.) were killed by which type of vehicle.

The category of ‘Pedestrian’ – as you would have guessed – is right at the top of this matrix with 1684 fatalities in a period of three years (2019, 2020, 2021). Heavy Vehicles and Light Motor Vehicles have killed the maximum number of pedestrians (452). It is worth keeping in mind that these two types of vehicles must also be holding a lion’s share in the 982 deaths caused by “unknown” vehicles (known as Hit-and-Run cases).

The above matrix implies that a lot of mixing occurs in Delhi between pedestrians and motorized vehicles. Second, given that there are so many fatal crashes between these two sets of road users, the current infrastructure is inadequate and unable to prevent deaths on the roads. Even high-risk areas often lack safe pedestrian infrastructure such as functional footpaths, proper crossings, and traffic calming infrastructure.

What I mean by “Functional Footpath” can be best explained by what is NOT a functional footpath. The case where a road simply does not have a footpath or sidewalk is a straightforward example. However, Delhi has a lot of roads that do have so-called footpaths that are dilapidated, abysmally designed, heavily encroached upon, dark, or discontinuous which make them unsafe, unusable and death-traps. Such footpaths are NOT functional.

According to the Street Design Guidelines (Nov 2009)7 issued by ‘Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre’ (UTTIPEC), “40% of the total Road Length of Delhi has NO footpaths. And the ones having footpaths, lack in quality in terms of surface, width and geometrics.” It would not be an exaggeration to say that barring a few VIP Roads in the ‘Lutyen’s Delhi’ – a tiny area administered by NDMC around the Embassies, Ministries, Secretariats, Five-Star Hotels, and residences of Ministers, MPs, etc. – very few roads, if any, in Delhi can claim to have functional footpaths!

Another way of defining ‘Functional Footpaths’ can be: footpaths that meet the Street Design Guidelines given by UTTIPEC and Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities (IRC: 103-2022)8 by the Indian Road Congress. These guidelines carry statutory force as explicitly observed by the Bombay High Court in Parisar Sanrakshan Sanwardhan Sanstha v. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PIL No. 210 of 2023).9 The Court held:

“Rule 166 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 clearly provides that the design, construction and maintenance of roads other than National Highways shall be in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Indian Road Congress, as may be applicable or any other guidelines issued by the Government from time to time. Thus, so far as the applicability of the guidelines issued by the Indian Roads Congress is concerned, we are of the opinion that the same are statutory.”

The role of UTTIPEC too is not merely advisory. It came into existence vide Notification S.O. No.1903(E)10 dated 31.07.2008 issued by DDA in the exercise of powers conferred by Section 57 of DDA Act, 1957. Some of the objectives of UTTIPEC are:

A five-page Street Design Checklist11 issued by UTTIPEC vide decision of Governing Body Meeting dated 18.03.2010 under the chairmanship of Delhi’s LG categorically states that “for the Roads (already) taken up for development, (or to be taken up subsequently), the adherence to UTTIPEC Pedestrian Design Guidelines is to be checked by the E-in-C/ C.E. concerned. All projects are to adhere to and follow the following Checklist provided.” Therefore, UTTIPEC’s Checklist/ guidelines are the law of the land, and cannot simply be ignored by anyone: be it GoI, GNCTD, MCD, NDMC, or any other ministry/ department/ body engaged in planning, designing or constructing roads or footpaths in the NCT of Delhi.

But the sad reality is: almost all roads in Delhi – barring a few exceptions found in the Lutyen’s Delhi – have been constructed in brazen violation of IRC and UTTIPEC Guidelines/Checklist. Since these roads lack functional footpaths, pedestrians are constrained to walk on that portion of the road which is meant for vehicular movement (technically called, ‘Carriageway’ or ‘vehicular zone’). By doing so, they exponentially increase their chances of getting hit by speeding vehicles. Please note that carriageway is just one of the many zones that comprise the total road width (technically called ‘Right of Way’). Unfortunately, in India “road” is believed to mean only carriageway, and other zones such as cycle lanes, footpaths etc. are conveniently ignored by the road designing/ building authorities without facing any consequences. Hence, it is the faulty road design and usage that forces pedestrians to mix with motorized vehicles endangering their lives.

The Transport Department, GNCTD, acknowledges in its Data to Action Report that in most of the high-risk locations in Delhi, “there is a lack of sidewalks, even in front of schools. Most of the road prioritizes smooth vehicular traffic flow rather than the safety and accessibility of the majority of road users which are pedestrians.” The Report contains specific examples of high-risk locations identified in each of the 11 districts of Delhi with reasons behind their dubious status. For Example, Central District’s Kashmere Gate (Metro Station) has the highest number of pedestrian fatalities out of all the high-risk locations because the metro station is located along a multilane highway and there are no existing safe crossing facilities. Similarly, three out of the nine high-risk locations in North District can be found in high-speed multilane roads, one of which is along Mukarba Junction. East District’s high-risk locations viz. Mayur Vihar and New Ashok Nagar metro stations have no sidewalks for pedestrians. The intersection of Okhla Estate Marg and Ma Anandmayee Marg falling in the South-East District lacks proper pedestrian crossing facilities and sidewalks. In the North-East District’s high-risk location Khajoori, there are inadequate walking and crossing facilities. Because the sidewalks are not enough and are obstructed, pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle of the road together with vehicular traffic, causing conflicts and crashes. The same is the case with West District’s Mundka Industrial Area (Metro Station).

Now let me share data from another report published by GNCTD titled ‘Road Accidents in Delhi 2018’12 wherein 33 out of a total of 110 Accident-prone Zones have been listed; these 33 are the most dangerous for pedestrians. Shockingly, the names observed in the previous paragraph feature in this list too: Kashmere Gate, Mukarba Junction, Khajoori, Mundka, etc. If MCD, PWD, DDA, NHAI, and all the other agencies truly valued the lives of Delhiites living outside Lutyen’s Delhi, then three years should have been enough time to provide world-class pedestrian infrastructure in these high-risk locations or accident-prone zones to drastically bring down fatalities. Today, in 2024, the situation remains unchanged barring some cosmetic changes which means hundreds of people will continue to die here year after year

A major reason for such a pathetic state of pedestrian safety measures at these high-risk locations is our ‘reactive’ (rather than proactive) approach. The message from our policy makers seems to be: (a) only those roads/ locations require proper pedestrian infrastructure where a ‘sufficient’ number of accidents / deaths have taken place, and (b) roads/ locations where a large number of deaths have not been reported would continue to suffer inadequate infrastructure. The situation does not change even when the citizens voice their grievances to the authorities.

I came across one such grievance written on behalf of two children (1.5 and 3 years old) living in Palam Village in the South-West District of Delhi. Their grievance, sent via email dated 25.06.202313, was with respect to a 150m stretch of the village road in front of their house which had become extremely dangerous to walk on due to traffic, heavy encroachment and the absence of a functional footpath. While the MCD did not respond, DCPCR (one of the addressees) took cognizance of the email and wrote to MCD’s Dy. Commissioner (Najafgarh zone), vide letter dated 30.06.202314, asking him to arrange for a visit of the area and clear roadside encroachments so as to make the area safe for the movement of children. DCPCR also sought an Action Taken Report on the subject on or before 14.07.2023. MCD not only ignored this letter dated 30.06.2023 but also the two reminders sent on 03.08.2023 and 25.08.202315.

This level of apathy towards the lives of the citizens – especially children – is quite mindboggling when viewed in light of the fact that MCD is under a statutory duty to design/ build / maintain roads and footpaths as per applicable standards (such as UTTIPEC & IRC Guidelines), protect them from encroachments, and punish the encroachers, as per various provisions of the Delhi Municipal Act, 1957 (DMC Act), Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (MV Act), Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 (CMV Rules). Just like MCD, other Ministries/ Departments/ bodies such as the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, PWD, NDMC, DCB, DDA, NHAI, DTP etc. are also dutybound under their respective Special or General laws to design/ build/ maintain/ monitor roads and allied pedestrian infrastructure in their jurisdiction as per applicable standards, protect them from encroachments, and take action against the encroachers.

I am sure that you also know, sir, that almost 50% of metro users approach stations on foot. Walking is also the dominant mode of travel for 77% of urban poor. Additionally, almost 60% of all trips are less than 4km and 80% below 6km - an ideal distance for using non-motorized modes like walking or cycling. Therefore, promoting walking and cycling infrastructure helps shift these short trips to walking or non-motorized modes, thus bringing down private car dependency. This would also significantly bring down the extremely high levels of pollution in Delhi. I have no doubt in my mind that the GoI and GNCTD desperately want to take Delhi off the infamous list of “the most polluted Capitals” in the world.

Some of the direct benefits accruing from a more pedestrian-centric planning approach include the following16:

We at Common Cause believe that walking needs to be acknowledged as an essential everyday freedom of an individual. There is a need to strongly implement the ‘pedestrian-first’ approach which has been adopted in the Master Plan of Delhi 202117, and reiterated in Regulations for Enhancing Walkability in Delhi notified by DDA on 02.08.201918, by adopting a comprehensive framework for planning and development of barrier-free pedestrian infrastructure, seamless intermodal connectivity, and safe and healthy mobility options for all. We must also acknowledge that deaths, disabilities and serious injuries to pedestrians in road accidents must be attributable to lapses on the part of the state because it is responsible for the safety of people.

This constitutional and statutory duty when read in light of MPD 2021, IRC Guidelines and UTTIPEC’s Street Design Checklist leaves no doubt in the mind that a Functional footpath is a non-negotiable requirement for all roads.19 Just like a person can drive from Point A to Point B anywhere in Delhi in her car because a continuous network of roads exists between the two points; in the same way, a continuous network of functional footpaths and pedestrian crossings must also exist from Point A to Point B so that she can also safely walk – if she so chooses – between the two points.

We sincerely request you to restore the dignity and sanctity of a pedestrian’s life, and direct the authorities concerned to take appropriate, time-bound steps for creating a continuous network of functional footpaths and pedestrian crossings throughout Delhi as per UTTIPEC’s Street Design Checklist, IRC Guidelines, MPD 2021, and other regulations, notifications and provisions of the prevailing law.

We would be grateful if you intervene at the level of policies and their effective implementation and keep us informed of the steps taken. It will be a privilege for us to meet you if you want us to explain some of these issues to you and your colleagues.

CC to: Secretary, MoRTH; Secretary, MoHUA; Vice Chairman, DDA; Chief Secretary, GNCTD; Principal Secretary, PWD, New Delhi; Commissioner, MCD; Chairperson, NDMC; CEO, DCB; Chairman, NHAI; Vice Chairman, UTTIPEC; Secretary General, IRC; Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, New Delhi; Chairperson, DCPCR; Member Secretary, DCW

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