Mumbai's Pedestrian-First Policy stalled despite Supreme Court footpath rights ruling

popcorn number685 junctions desc No of traffic junctions in the city classDefaultThe Supreme Court on June 19 declared the freedom to walk on demarcated and wellmaintained footpaths a fundamental right which has priority over movement by motorised vehicles A decade since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation mooted its lsquoPedestrianFirst Policyrsquo with optimistic promises of making Mumbairsquos footpaths safe and friendly for pedestrians the guidelines remain unimplementedThis has led experts and citizens to question the effectiveness of policies and the civic bodyrsquos resolve to take action to improve the walkability index of the cityIn November 2025 BMC selected 14 locations across the city as a pilot project to design model footpaths as per its Universal Footpath Policy Depending on the success of this project it would be scaled to design all footpaths across the city the same way However this project too is yet to take offExperts have pointed to a lack of concerted efforts from the administration and elected representatives to examine how footpaths are designed They have pointed out that the width and the design of footpaths in Mumbai remain the biggest challengeOfficial SpeakAn official told midday ldquoPolicies are functional but get topped up with newer demands and have to accommodate new projects which leads to a lack of clarity about the fine print of what should and should not be implemented regarding footpaths Several projects are taken up at the ward level with areaspecific demands that need urgent implementationrdquoAim of Universal Footpath Policygtgt To provide ldquosafe continuous uninterrupted and dedicated passages for mobility of pedestriansrdquogtgt Footpath planning should minimise conflict between pedestrians and vehicular movementgtgt Footpaths should be regarded as part of the transportation system which is connected and continuous just like roadsgtgt They should not be intermittently placed wherever convenient but should be consistently along the roadSV Road mdash one glaring exampleAfter the Universal Footpath Policy was finalised in 2023 several portions of the footpaths on SV Road that were made in 2024 and 2025 did not adhere to the width and height guidelines listed in the policy experts pointed outA biker ventures onto the footpath on Dr BR Ambedkar Road in Dadar East FILE PICATUL KAMBLEWhat does the policy covergtgt The Universal Footpath Policy provides detailed guidelines across these aspects of footpath design Surface width obstructions such as lights trees bins post boxes and licensed hawkers encroachments all informal commercial activities and continuity of footpathsgtgt Guidelines for use of bollards guardrails overhanging obstructions height of curbs level changes in case of design obstructions such as entrances of buildings and traffic junctionsgtgt Guidelines to ensure continuity in directions for pedestrians at traffic junctions There are 685 traffic junctions in the cityProgress over past decade2016 The BMC finalised its PedestrianFirst Policy and a detailed ninepage guidelines was published to bring uniformity in the construction and maintenance of footpaths2017 and 2019 The BMC further enhanced this policy with additional circulars covering engineering and design aspects of footpaths2023 The BMC drafted its Universal Footpath Policy with overarching promises to make footpaths accessible and enhance walkability enhancing the PedestrianFirst Policy2023 The BMC finalised its trenching policy with dedicated guidelines for trenching of footpaths to ensure they were reinstated as per the standard design after work on utilities2025 The BMC set aside Rs 100 crore in the 202526 for budget its implementationHighlightsgtgt Encroachments All encroachments should be removed by following the legal procedure There should be a minimum width of 12 m for pedestrians to walk uninterruptedgtgt Obstructions All obstructions should be on one side of the footpath to give citizens a clear uninterrupted walkwaygtgt Continuity Colourcoded kerb ramps should be providedgtgt Width A minimum of 12 m should be consistently maintained for walking along the footpathgtgt Surface The surface of the footpath should not provide tripping hazards in the form of manhole covers or slopesgtgt Kerb The height of the kerb should not be more than 150 mm avoiding a sudden change in levels