[sustran] Fwd: Sustainable Beginnings

[Sujit Patwardhan]

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<http://www.sumnet.in> Visit Our Page <http://www.sumnet.in>



*SUM Net Newsletter May 2017*



*SUM Net expresses disappointment over inclusion of provisions detrimental
to non-motorised transport users in the Road Safety Bill 2016.*

The Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Transport, Tourism and
Culture in its report (Report 243) on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill
2016, which has been tabled in the Parliament to help improve Road Safety,
has recommended penalizing pedestrians and cyclists and restricting
movement of non-motorised vehicles on highways and main roads of metro
cities, labelling them as a hazard and nuisance to others.

Earlier a new Section 138(1A) was introduced in the Motor Vehicles Act to
allow State Governments to make rules for non-motorized vehicles, which
have so far not been under the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act.



Parisar along with other civil society organisations and SUM Net members
and experts have pointed out that this recommendation is totally contrary
to the principles outlined in the National Urban Transport Policy 2006 and
the recent AMRUT and Smart City guidelines which speak of promoting
walking, cycling and exclusive lanes for non-motorised transport and
encouragement of their use. Reacting to the proposal, Prof. Geetam Tiwari
of IIT Delhi, an expert in urban mobility and road safety, stated that this
would take the urban mobility agenda back 50 years. SUM Net member, Rishi
Agarwal, who has launched The Walking Project in Mumbai, pointed out that
cities can only be safer when adequate provisions are made for pedestrians
and cyclists and not by banning or restricting them. Pune for instance has
recently created Urban Street Design Guidelines and is revamping streets to
make much wider footpaths and cycle tracks.

A letter strongly objecting to these recommendations has been sent to Shri
Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways by SUM Net, a
national coalition of civil society organisations promoting sustainable
urban mobility. The Ministry is currently in the process of revising the
Bill based on the PSC report. The letter urges the Ministry to reject this
recommendation of the PSC, to entirely delete Section 138(1A) and make a
new Non-Motorized Vehicles Act.

To read the letter, please click here
<http://parisar.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c6772931ff3cf261b5ba27d98&id=2e7a94c64e&e=2db8bc03bd>.



*Workshop in Pune on the topic of Street Vendors Scheme*

A one-day workshop was organized in March 2017 to discuss the provisions
and implementation of the Street Vendors Scheme announced by the Government
of Maharashtra in line with the provisions of the Street Vendors
(Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The
workshop was organized by SUM Net members CEE (Centre for Environment
Education) and Parisar with the National Hawkers’ Federation, at Yashada,
Pune.



Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
Act, 2014 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate street
vendors in public areas and protect their rights. State Governments are
required to prepare Rules for implementation of the Act and also the Scheme
for the Street Vendors as per section 36 and 38 of the Act. The provisions
made by State Governments in the Scheme would determine whether and to what
extent the Act is being implemented. The Maharashtra State Government
published the Rules under the Act on August 3, 2016.The Scheme was
published on 9th January 2017, without following a process for objections
and suggestions from the public.



This workshop was a continuation of the dialogues and discussions initiated
in early 2016 by SUM Net, CEE and Parisar. A workshop had been arranged in
March 2016 at YASHADA, Pune,  to discuss the provisions of the Street
Vendors Act and expectations or desirable provisions for the state level
legislation. A follow-up meeting was also held on 5th October 2016 at
Indradhanushya, Pune to deliberate on the points emerging out of March
workshop. The draft scheme text had been provided by the Urban Development
department, Government of Maharashtra in response to an application under
the Right to Information in late 2016. A letter sharing concerns about the
published scheme had been sent to Nodal Officer of Government of
Maharashtra on 10th March 2017 by Parisar. Representatives of Pune,
Pimpri-Chinchwad, Sangli, Kolhapur, Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Parbhani and
Amravati were present for the workshop.





*SUM Net publishes report on condition of non-motorised transport
facilities in six Indian cities : Cyclists and pedestrians take the worst
hit when it comes to our streets*

Six SUM Net members engaged in executing sustainable transport projects in
their cities in the year 2016. Walkability studies done in Patna, Guwahati
and Ranchi revealed the miserable condition of pedestrians in the three
cities, where lack of footpaths, the substandard condition of footpaths and
dangerous crossings summed up the situation of pedestrian facilities. In
Nagpur, women cyclists working as domestic help who rely heavily on their
bicycle for transit and greater access to livelihood were studied to give
voice to the issues of women cyclists in the city.

A school awareness programme undertaken in Indore highlighted the issues of
the dignity of cyclists or the lack of it in our cities. In Shimla, a study
of their unique, historic Mall road was undertaken which had been an
exclusive pedestrian zone since before Indian independence. These varied
studies have been instrumental in highlighting the condition of cyclists
and pedestrians in most of the cities.

A policy statement based on the outcomes of these studies has been issued
by SUM Net. Though limited in scope, these studies may very well be
reflective of the situation of pedestrians and cyclists in other cities.
Ironically, when the government speaks of promoting green mobility by
encouraging public transport and other low carbon emitting modes of
transport, little is being done about it.

*Policy statement on Walkability and Cycling in our cities*

This statement is the outcome of six projects done in six cities in India,
namely Patna, Nagpur, Indore, Guwahati, Shimla and Ranchi by SUM Net
members which reflect the real situation of urban transport. In most of the
cities, such studies were first of its kind.

Based on the specific outcomes of these studies, some broad level policy
inputs can be extracted as follows:

*1.* The existence of a National Urban Transport Policy, have not
translated into Walkability or cycling and public transport infrastructure.
Even after a decade, awareness among stakeholders such as officials, media,
and institutions remains near about absent. The basic tenets of sustainable
transport endorsed by the NUTP – namely good public transport and
facilities for non-motorised transport are compromised in varying levels in
all our cities.

The only way to move ahead of this situation is for states to come up with
their own state urban transport policies which can then be used to
formulate enforceable rules.

*2.* At the city level, authorities need to engage in creating systems for
good design of streets through formulating street design guidelines and
according to the requirement, come up with dedicated policies for
pedestrians and cyclists.

*3. *These studies involved public engagement in the form of public
discussions, surveys and release events which are lacking from the realm of
decision making in urban transport in cities. The revision of the NUTP
lacked a robust public consultation process. Other than civil society
organizations that organize awareness programs, the Government should think
about the same at various levels.

To read the report, please click here
<http://parisar.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6772931ff3cf261b5ba27d98&id=6f5576128b&e=2db8bc03bd>.

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*It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick
society.*

- J. Krishnamurti

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Sujit Patwardhan
patwardhan.sujit at gmail.com
sujit at parisar.org <sujitjp at gmail.com>
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Yamuna, ICS Colony, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
Tel: +91 20 25537955
Cell: +91 98220 26627
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