India's dignity belittled by hand-pulled rickshaws: SC

MUMBAI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to put an end to the functioning of hand-pulled rickshaws in Matheran within six months and switch to e-rickshaws, while calling the practice “inhuman” and “against the basic concept of human dignity”.

SC orders discontinuation of “inhuman” hand-pulled rickshaws in Matheran

Hearing a plea filed by the Handcart Pullers Association seeking the introduction of e-rickshaws in place of the manual hand-pulled rickshaws, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice N V Anjaria said, “Permitting such a practice, which is against the basic concept of human dignity in a country like India, belittles the constitutional promises of social and economic justice.”

While referring to a scheme in Gujarat where the government issued e-rickshaws to locals in Kevadia on rent, the apex court told the Maharashtra government to come up with similar schemes and also ordered the setting up of Matheran Monitoring Committee, under the chairmanship of the district collector, which will be responsible to identify the people to whom the e-rickshaw licenses shall be issued. The court added that the beneficiaries could also include tribal women to ensure them a steady livelihood.