The civic body has once again promised to provide better footpaths for pedestrians and allocated Rs 200 crore for this in its budget for 2023-24. However, another major problem faced by pedestrians—the hawker menace—remains unresolved with no plan to tackle the issue in the near future. Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal in his budget speech said the BMC would map footpath facilities that have a width of 9 metres or more and turn them into cement concrete ones. 

Chahal said, “New CC [cement concrete] footpath of good quality, to ensure smooth walking, with international surface designs will be constructed in fast-track mode. This is one of the initiatives undertaken following suggestions from citizens. All 9-metre roads will have footpaths on both sides.” The civic chief added that places where exisiting footpath is uneven would also be repaired.