Limited E-Rickshaws To Compensate Hand-Rickshaw Pullers: Apex Court
Nandini Rao | Matheran
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| JUSTICE IN REACH: The Supreme Court has directed the Monitoring Committee to decide on the number of E-Rickshaws to ply in Matheran and the roads permitted to be used by them |
A division bench of Justices B.R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, was hearing a plea from three horseowners' associations seeking a modification of an earlier order that permitted the implementation of eco-friendly E-Rickshaw in Matheran, on an experimental basis, to check its feasibility to replace hand-pulled rickshaws.
In its previous order, the Court had looked into the problem of the man-pulled rickshaws. The Court said that a committee of various experts, including the representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Central Pollution Control Board, Department of Environment, and others, constituted by virtue of a 2003 notification by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, would decide on this issue.
The Court also pointed out that Matheran has been declared as an Eco-Sensitive Zone that needed to be protected. The Court thought that putting paver blocks would ruin the natural beauty of this city.
The Supreme Court, in an earlier interim order, had laid down that the roads which have been in existence since the beginning were in use for hand-pulled rickshaws and horses plying in the zone and E-Rickshaws too could ply on the same.
It had said, "laying down of paver-blocks would destroy the natural beauty of the said city. Even in the reserved forests, there are no concrete roads and the safari vehicles are plying on the jungle roads."
The Court now maintained the Monitoring Committee shall also consider as to which of the roads/streets would be permitted to be used by the E-Rickshaws.
During the hearing, the Court was informed that the Monitoring Committee, with the help of IIT Bombay, is thinking about using clay paver blocks instead of concrete paver blocks. This is because clay paver blocks are needed to stop soil erosion. Moreover, the committee has to figure out how many E-Rickshaws can run in the city.
The committee has to give the report in four weeks.
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