Delhi's rickshaw pullers may get biometric badges

Calcutta News.Net
Monday 14th December, 2009

Rickshaw pullers in the capital may soon get biometric badges after being trained in traffic rules to regularise their movement instead of banning them altogether.

The Delhi government put forth the proposal in the Delhi High Court while filing the minutes of a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor of the city. It said that with the introduction of biometric badges, the number and authorisation of cycle rickshaw pullers could be checked on a regular basis.

'Every rickshaw puller is to be issued a biometric badge. Traffic police will be provided with hand-held biometric badge readers to check the authenticity of the rickshaw puller,' Meera Bhatia, standing counsel of the Delhi Police, said last week before a special bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah, Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Ravinder Bhatt.

The matter was posted for further hearing Dec 16.

'Traffic police will impart adequate training in traffic rules, signages and familiarity with the zonal traffic pattern before a rickshaw puller is given a biometric badge to operate,' Bhatia said.

The Delhi government has also suggested that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) consider adopting different colour codes for each city zone.

'The registration charges for owner-driven rickshaws will be less than for those run by contractors. Also, the number of rickshaws should be regulated by keeping in mind the demand and carrying capacity of the road,' the affidavit states.

The court was hearing a petition by NGO Manushi, which said that the court's order and the MCD's policy of banning rickshaws from the main arterial roads and Chandni Chowk area in Old Delhi was arbitrary and violated the fundamental rights of rickshaw pullers.

Earlier the court had pulled up Delhi Police for being 'insensitive' towards rickshaw pullers in a bid to make the capital a 'world class city'.

'Poor people cannot live in a world class city? How can a public authority talk like this about the poor,' the three-judge bench had asked.

The police affidavit read: 'Allowing cycle rickshaws to ply on the arterial roads would certainly not contribute to this vision. Instead, it will make Delhi like any other mofussil town. Rickshaw pullers are a rule by themselves.'

'Cycle rickshaws not only add to the congestion on the roads and footpaths but also occupy space as the rickshaw puller is too poor to own a residence or dwelling and encouraging them in developing unauthorised colonies is giving rise to social problems in the city,' the affidavit had said.

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