Bombay High Court VVIP Movement: You must have often seen that when a minister or VIP convoy is about to pass, the roads are cleared. After some time, the vehicles of the PM or a big minister pass by. Now the Bombay High Court has made an important comment in a case. 

The Bombay High Court has made an important comment regarding the VVIP movement. The High Court today said that when roads and footpaths can be cleared for a day for the Prime Minister and other very important persons (VVIPs), then why can't this be done every day for all people? A division bench of Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Kamal Khata said that clean footpaths and safe spaces for walking a fundamental rights of every person and it is the responsibility of the state authority to provide them. 

Thinking won't help...

The bench said that it would not be enough for the Maharashtra government to just think about what should be done to solve the problem of unauthorized hawkers encroaching on the footpaths in the city. They (the state government) will now have to take some strict steps in this direction. 

The High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue of unauthorized hawkers in the city last year. The bench said on Monday that it knows that the problem is big but the state and other authorities including the municipal bodies cannot leave it like that. The bench called for strict action on this issue. 

The court's bluntness

The court said, "When the Prime Minister or any VVIP comes, the roads and footpaths are immediately cleaned and it remains so till they are here. Then how does this happen? Why can't this be done for everyone else? Citizens pay taxes, they need clean footpaths and safe space to walk." 

seems to be lacking in willpower

The court said, 'Footpaths and safe places to walk are a fundamental right. We tell our children to walk on the footpaths but what will we tell our children if there are no footpaths to walk on?' The bench said that for years the officials have been saying that they are working on this issue. The court said, 'The state government needs to take some strict action. It cannot be that the officials just keep thinking about what to do. It seems that there is a lack of will because where there is will, there is always some way out.' 

Senior advocate SU Kamdar, appearing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said that action is taken against such hawkers and street vendors from time to time but they come back again. He said that the BMC is also considering the option of an underground market. The court will hear the case next on July 22.