Bengaluru citizens urge passage of Karnataka Active Mobility Bill in monsoon session

Citizens, urban planners, and heritage experts in Bengaluru are urging the state government to pass the long-pending Karnataka Active Mobility Bill during the legislature's upcoming monsoon session. The push comes amid an ongoing footpath encroachment removal drive by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and recent Supreme Court directions recognizing safe, obstruction-free footpaths as a fundamental right.

Originally drafted by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) in December 2021, the bill aims to make walking and cycling legal rights. It would legally mandate urban local bodies to build and maintain continuous, safe, and universally accessible pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, reversing decades of vehicle-centric road planning. The draft bill received 519 public comments from across the country before being finalized in December 2022.

Sonal Kulkarni, co-founder of UrbanMorph, stated that the current GBA footpath clearance drive is a temporary event, whereas the bill would establish a permanent system. Kulkarni warned that cleared footpaths would be encroached upon again without the legal obligations, annual audits, ward-level supervisors, and citizen grievance redressal mechanisms proposed in the bill.

Section 5 of the draft bill would require every new street design and redevelopment project, including routine asphalting or white-topping, to prioritize safe walking and cycling infrastructure. No street design would receive approval without being vetted for pedestrian and cyclist primacy.

Heritage conservationist Priya Chetty-Rajagopal noted that Bengaluru's current traffic system is heavily oriented toward motorized vehicles, leaving pedestrians neglected. She pointed out that existing infrastructure like skywalks and underpasses often serve primarily as advertising platforms rather than helping walkers.

Vijay Kumar DV, a retired citizen advocating for footpaths, urged the city to prioritize pedestrians by making safe, continuous footpaths the primary claim on road space. He called for a pause on non-essential road expansion and a focus on ensuring every neighborhood has disability-friendly footpaths.