Rickshaw racket ’most corrupt’

Delhi High Court summons MCD Commissioner over plying of cycle rickshaws in the city

Rickshaw racket 'most corrupt'

Delhi High Court summons MCD Commissioner over plying of cycle rickshaws in the city

One of the most corrupt systems in the city involves not the high and mighty but the ordinary cycle rickshaw.

The actual number of the tri-cycle vehicles of public convenience far exceeds the number permitted by the authorities.

Many roads in Delhi have been announced as out-of- bounds for the cycle rickshaw by traffic cops on the plea that they slow down traffic as well as are more prone to accidents during peak hour.

On the petition of noted social activist Madhu Kishwar,u00a0 the Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued summons to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, asking him to personally appear before the court on the policy regarding cycle rickshaw. The summons was issued by a special bench headed by chief justice of the Delhi High Court AP Shah. "The court has asked the MCD commissioner to come up with a response on Wednesday afternoon. We are prepared to explain the entire issue to the court," said a senior MCD official.

In her petition, Kishwar had demanded removal of the ceiling on the number of cycle rickshaws which can ply in the city. It also asked for freedom of the rickshaws to ply in any areas by removing area limitations.

Interestingly, the petitioner feels that MCD was working fine and described Mehra as "the most extraordinary
commissioners to have headed the civic body." "I am surprised that the MCD Commissioner was issued summons who took extraordinary pain to solve the issue. In fact, it is the Delhi Police which put it foot down and created an issue by rushing to the Lieutenant Governor's (LG) office," Kishwar told MiD DAY.

"The earlier policy regarding cycle rickshaws in the city was completely monstrous. It did not allow more than 99,000 to ply and these rickshaws are not allowed to run beyond a certain area," Kishwar explained.

Following the petition, the MCD started to look into the matter and referred it to a specialised town planner.

Delhi Police and several other bodies were part of the discussion group. "Initially, the Delhi Police had no issue with the new proposal which asked for a separate lane for the cycle rickshaws," Kishwar said.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels