MAD against ban on cycling on Mussoorie Mall Road

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 24

A delegation of the Dehradun-based student activist group – Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) – met District Magistrate Ravinath Raman and expressed its displeasure over the ban on cycling on the Mall Road in Mussoorie.

Members of the MAD cited a judgment of the Delhi High Court, which ruled that any blanket ban on cycling, which is a non-polluting, non-motorised mode of transport, was patently unconstitutional. In Manushi Sangathan vs Govt of NCT of Delhi, the constitutionality of some aspects of the Delhi transport policy and its implementation were challenged. The policy fixed the total number of rickshaws that could ply on the streets of Delhi and also provided for routine confiscation of rickshaws plying without a licence. The Delhi High Court had termed these aspects of the policy unconstitutional in 2010, stating “any legislative or executive measure that has the effect of totally prohibiting an individual from exercising his freedom of trade and carry-on any profession under Article 19(1)(g) should be imposed in rare and exceptional circumstances.”

In paragraph 72 of the judgment, the court pointed out that road management can’t mean prioritisation of access to only one class of vehicles, particularly when there is a significant body of evidence that such class contributes to clogging of routes. Besides these specific observations of the judgment, MAD members have also quoted the statement of Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu made earlier in the Lok Sabha. Prabhu had stated, “What is the message that we are trying to give to the people? Do not use bicycles, use cars? Is that what we want to tell them? Or do we want bicycles to be used? I think in urban planning, we must ensure that more and more lanes are reserved for bicycle-users as well as pedestrians.”

MAD members said that it would be rather appropriate for the SDM to ban all kinds of motorised transport on the Mall Road than banning the use of cycles. MAD requested the District Magistrate to order immediate withdrawal of the ban otherwise the group was ready to take legal action. In the memorandum submitted to the District Magistrate, they recorded their reservations about the taxi lobby having a hand in this decision. The District Magistrate assured them of doing the needful. MAD founding president Abhijay Negi and founding member Aakash Bhatia were part of the delegation.