Recently, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement declared the right to walk carefree on footpaths a fundamental right and asked the government to frame a law to protect pedestrians. It is a reflection of the sorry state of affairs that it required the apex court of the country to intervene and recognize something as basic as protecting the right of an individual to walk carefree without having to worry about dangers to life and limb. The abysmal conditions of the footpaths of our city has been discussed threadbare in the past and this is the time to revisit the subject. As is most often the case in matters relating to public infrastructure in the city, there is no cause for any cheer.
The State of Indian Streets 2026 Report, a study undertaken by Neural City, a Lucknow-based tech startup founded to enhance the livability of Indian cities by revolutionizing city governance through technology, has found that only 13.9 percent of our city’s roads have continuous, walkable footpaths that allow people to walk at least 100 meters without any obstruction. However remarkably, Chennai ranked fourth in the study, conducted in 12 major cities (ranking behind Lucknow, Bengaluru and Hyderabad), showing that accessible and safe footpaths are a luxury across the country.
The problems are clearly multi-pronged. First, the construction exercise itself. Recently, the Greater Chennai Corporation cancelled 35 tenders worth Rs. 284 crores for construction of footpaths in key roads across the city, the reason being the familiar bedfellow of any public infrastructure project viz., corruption. It found issues such as pre-fixed bids, increased construction costs per metre and selective contractor participation patterns in the tendering process. Next come design issues. Lack of adherence to uniform design guidelines has led to haphazard constructions, with common problems being steep kerb ramps, missing tactile paving, etc. Lack of coordination amongst governmental agencies too adds to the mix, with utilities such as transformers (often with huge cables jutting out) and telephone junction boxes vying with each other to ensure that footpaths remain inaccessible. Pavements are also a casualty when works such as laying of stormwater drains take place, which post-completion makes it impossible to provide for footpaths or replace the ones damaged during the work.
The biggest and most visible problem though comes from encroachments on pavements, which prevent continuous, unobstructed movements. These include unauthorized roadside eateries (with plastic stools for patrons to sit and eat and strewn food waste making up the ambience), conversion of pavements into parking spaces, etc. Recently, the authorities themselves were guilty of this transgression in this writer’s neighbourhood, which saw MTC buses using the pavement – that had been broken down as a part of the Nageswara Park’s restoration exercise – as a parking space for quite some time, before there was belated action by way of putting up of rails. Despite regular clearance drives undertaken by local traffic police and the municipal authorities to clear encroachments, they reappear at the same spot almost instantly, which raises questions as to the real intention of these drives.
There is an urgent need to stop treating footpaths as dispensable elements of pedestrian infrastructure and instead be recognized as an integral and important element in promoting non-motorized transport. No amount of budgetary allocations will work, unless there is a dedicated effort on the part of the policymakers and officials in this regard. There is also a need for the public to realise that obstruction-free footpaths are as much their responsibility as that of the officials and ensure that they remain vigilant against attempts to hinder what has been recognized as their fundamental right. It is not sufficient that the city prides itself in the wide pavements created in small patches (primarily as Smart City initiatives), while leaving the public susceptible to dangers in large stretches elsewhere. Safe, well-designed and well-maintained pavements need to be accessible for all.