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The Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government to file a detailed affidavit on the steps taken to make Mumbai’s footpaths accessible for the specially-abled.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra K. Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S. Doctor was hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation plea filed by the high court in September last year, after receiving an email from Karan Shah, 25. Mr. Shah, a resident of Shivaji Park who has been wheelchair-bound since birth, had raised concerns on inaccessibility after facing issues navigating the city’s streets due to the bollards installed on footpaths.
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Representing the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, senior advocate Anil Singh said that the deadline of three months given to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for resolving issues related to bollards on footpaths had ended on March 7. The work, however, is still in progress. The State Advisory Board, established under Section 71 of the Right of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, had already been formed by the government of Maharashtra, said the State’s counsel to the judges’ Bench.
“The board is constituted. Accordingly, we call upon the government to file an affidavit by a high-level officer which shall contain details of steps taken for providing easy access to specially-abled persons on footpaths in the city of Mumbai,” observed the court.
The court also asked the Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to seek instructions over the removal of bollards on the roads within their respective jurisdictions.
The Bench has listed the case for further hearing in two weeks.