In a recent judgment, the Karnataka High Court has favoured road widening as the only solution to traffic congestion in Bangalore. This decision would have far reaching consequences to peoples' rights to housing, livelihoods and safe mobility, and would adversely impact local urban economies and the environment.
We are sharing our analysis of this judgment on wider networks as we believe there are similar challenges in other cities across India, and elsewhere, and that it is important that we collectively work to limit the possibility of such regressive decisions adversely affecting our cities.
Regards,
ESG Team
About ESG: Environment Support Group is a small group committed researchers and activists responding to various issues of environmental and social justice concern. More details about the group may be accessed at: http://esgindia.org/about-us/esg-team.html Donate to ESG: ESG relies on public support and your generous contributions to advance its various public interest initiatives. Details on how you can contribute can be accessed at: http://esgindia.org/about-us/what-you-can-do.html
Karnataka High Court decision approving Sadashivnagar-Yeshwantpur Road Widening regressive
Revisitation of this order essential given the irrereversible and deep impacts on
people's rights to life, housing and livelihood, and the environment
SUMMARY
A Division Bench of the High Court of Karntaka has held that the widening of the Sadashivnagar road for 6 laning is in conformance with the law, even when the public have been denied opportunity of participating in such a decision. Given the very deep and irreversible impacts of this decision in response in a PIL filed by Dr. Meenakshi Bharat and ors, a reappraisal of this judgment is critical to ensure safety and security of all residents of Bangalore, and not only those who can afford to use private transport.
Key points:
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The widening of the road is justified on the basis of proposals made in the 1984 Comprehensive Development Plan, thus rejecting the contention that the public cannot subsequently affect such decisions.
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Directions are issued on Environment Support Group and Hasire Usiru to assist the Government in such road widening, even when the organisations are not parties to the PIL, and have exposed that road such widening is not a solution to relieving traffic congestion on the basis of various applicable laws, policies and evolving urban planning science.
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The direction to ESG and Hasire Usiru contradict the fundamental premise of jurisprudence, that an opportunity of a fair Hearing must be extended to all affected by a decision in conformance with Principles of Natural Justice.
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Consequently, earlier directions of Karnataka High Court in connected matters raised by Environment Support Group could not be brought to the attention of this Division Bench. Were ESG heard in the matter, there is every possibility that the decision could have been progressive.
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Constant public participation in decision making is fundamental to urban planning, as is required in the Constitutional 74th Amendment (Nagarpalika) Act. However, this direction seems to suggest that a decision once taken by the Government has absolute permanence, even when the context in which such decisions were taken in the past has comprehensively changed. The order also dismisses the possibility of progressive ideas affecting positively an older decision for the greater common good.
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Pedestrian and cyclist issues are totally ignored in this direction.
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Disturbingly, the order argues that "widening roads is the only means to overcome this traffic congestion" even as it accepts that a report of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport is a result of 'cutting edge scientific analysis'. This report, interestingly, argues for adopting various measures other than road-widening to curtail traffic congestion, and in specific releavance to this stretch of road.
The detailed analysis of the Judgment may be accessed here: www.esgindia.org
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