A simple act like walking in the capital is increasingly becoming unsafe and ignored. In a city where millions depend on walking as a primary mode of transport, footpaths meant to be the most basic public infrastructure have been reduced to multi-purpose zones for everything except pedestrians.
Bike and car parking, garbage dumping, shop extensions, tea stalls, random construction material, and even police barricades have taken over pedestrian spaces. The message is clear—if you wish to walk, take the main road and compete with traffic.
Invoking the right to walk as intrinsic to the right to life, said the Supreme Court recently, underscoring that pedestrians are entitled to safe and unobstructed public spaces. However, a ground survey reveals a starkly different reality. Footpaths across the capital are routinely choked by illegal parking, construction debris, street vendors, barricades, and even temporary shelters set up by migrant labourers. As a result, the pedestrians are often forced onto the carriageway, risking their lives amid a fast-moving traffic.
Encroached streets across the city
In several high-footfall areas such as Karol Bagh, Lakshmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Daryaganj and Chandni Chowk, the situation is particularly severe. Even in service lanes, footpaths are entirely taken over by parked vehicles, leaving no space for pedestrians.
Instead of functioning as safe walking corridors, these pavements have become extensions of commercial and vehicular activity. During the morning peak office hours, when the ITO bridge witnesses major traffic snarls, the two-wheelers are seen taking the footpath to avoid the road traffic.
In Karol Bagh and Lakshmi Nagar market areas, cars are routinely parked on footpaths, while shopkeepers expand their shopfronts onto pedestrian space. In Chandni Chowk and Daryaganj, street vendors and temporary stalls further narrow already congested pathways. In front of the bookshops in Daryaganj, a large part of the footpath leading to the Jama Masjid is encroached upon, with some shops having extended their tables on the footpath.
In Kashmere Gate, in front of the election office, the long stretch of the footpath is not available because the cars and bikes are parked over it. In Mayur Vihar, IP Extension, the residential stretches are no exception, with footpaths blocked by vehicles and construction debris.
Many footpaths have the sloping ramps also, which are mandatory for the wheelchairs, but they are usually used for the bikes and scooters. The cumulative effect is that pedestrians are left with no choice but to walk on the road. The encroachment reflects not just a lack of enforcement but also a deeper absence of pedestrian-centric urban planning.
Architects from DDA refused to make a comment on the matter.
Citizens flag administrative apathy
Saurabh Gandhi, general secretary of United Residents of Delhi, alleged that repeated complaints to local MLAs and councillors have gone unanswered, allowing encroachments to persist.
He claimed that information about enforcement drives often leaks in advance, enabling encroachers to temporarily remove obstructions before authorities arrive. “Shopkeepers are already aware of the drives in advance, which is why these actions rarely succeed,” he said.
Gandhi further alleged that collections made through sanitation inspectors point to systemic corruption, reducing anti-encroachment drives to “eyewash” exercises. He stressed that stricter accountability is needed from local police to ensure encroachments do not reappear after removal.
He also called for better coordination between the MCD and the police, suggesting that both agencies act simultaneously to prevent reoccupation of cleared spaces. Citing recent efforts, Gandhi said nearly 1,500 hawkers were removed following complaints but were later relocated in the vicinity, continuing the cycle of encroachment.
Meanwhile, Sunita Dahiya, RWA president in Mayur Vihar, Phase II, said, “This issue is not about blaming the government. It is just about the civic sense. It is our own duty to keep the footpaths free from encroachments, parked vehicles, etc. Even at the designated parking lots, when the signboards have been put up saying, “Parking for these ten flats”, seven out of 10 cars are not from Mayur Vihar. Whom do you blame?”
Rising human cost of unsafe streets
The consequences of poor pedestrian infrastructure are reflected in the alarming rise of accidents. According to the Delhi Police, around 649 pedestrians were killed and 1,738 injured in road accidents in 2025. Private cars accounted for the highest number of pedestrian deaths at 92, followed by two-wheelers at 75, while heavy transport and goods vehicles were responsible for 43 fatalities.
A study by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIPP) at IIT-Delhi, conducted in collaboration with University College London, found that pedestrians accounted for 43 per cent of the 1,461 fatal road crashes recorded in Delhi in 2022.
The study, based on surveys of 426 pedestrians across eight wards in south Delhi, highlighted serious safety concerns. “Twelve out of fifteen general pedestrian environments were rated unsafe,” the study noted. These included fast-moving traffic, lack of crossings near bus stops, vehicles parked near crossings, encroachment of footpaths by cars and two-wheelers, poor lighting, lack of CCTV cameras, and minimal police presence, especially after sunset.
Only a few elements such as raised medians, properly designed footpaths, and the presence of organised vendor zones were considered relatively safe.
“Footpaths are either missing or completely unusable in many areas. The surface is uneven, the height is incorrect, and in some stretches, pedestrian space has been removed altogether during roadworks,” an IIT professor had said.
A tale of two Delhis
While large parts of the city struggle with encroached and unsafe footpaths, a contrasting picture emerges in more affluent neighbourhoods such as Lodhi Colony, Khan Market, New Friends Colony and Greater Kailash. Here, pavements are clean, well-maintained, and free of encroachment. Tree-lined streets and unobstructed walkways create an environment where walking is not just possible but pleasant. The absence of informal vendors and strict enforcement of civic norms ensure that pedestrian spaces remain intact.
This stark contrast highlights the uneven distribution of civic infrastructure and enforcement across the city, raising questions about accessibility and equity. In Malviya Nagar the footpaths are clean and walking may be effortless, but the moment you take a U-turn into the Khirki Extension, the footpaths are mostly invisible with encroachment.
Unipoles add to the chaos
Despite restrictions under the Delhi Outdoor Advertising Policy 2017 that prohibit installing unipoles for advertisements on footpaths, many parts of the city continue to feature them.
A spot check conducted by this newspaper in April this year revealed violations, particularly in the placement of these structures on footpaths. The policy explicitly states that any large-format outdoor advertising device, such as billboards or unipoles, “can be permitted three metres after the footpath, as measured from its edge”. However, most of the locations showed non-compliance, and many of the structures were officially approved by the MCD, yet they do not adhere to the prescribed guidelines.
A plea was filed in the Delhi high court against the civic body, alleging violations of the Outdoor Advertisement Policy 2017, which the SC had directed for immediate implementation nearly nine years ago. Filed by the Centre for Youth Culture Law and Environment, the petition flags unauthorised advertisement structures across the city.
Recurring findings, limited action
A study by the CSIR-Central Road Research Institute in 2016 found that 20-26% of pavements in Delhi were obstructed by garbage, potholes, and encroachments such as personal gardening. Around 5% of footpaths had permanent obstructions, including toilets, poles, and trees. The findings highlighted how pedestrian infrastructure was compromised, even before rapid urban pressures intensified.
In 2019, the DDA introduced an ambitious draft policy aimed at making Delhi pedestrian-friendly. Recognising that nearly one-third of daily trips were made on foot, it proposed a “pedestrian-first” approach with continuous, barrier-free footpaths, safer crossings, better lighting, and dedicated walkable districts near metro stations and markets.
The policy identified major gaps—almost 40% of roads lacked footpaths, while existing ones were poorly maintained or encroached upon. It proposed “Complete Streets” and mandated walk plans for 27 locations. However, despite a strong framework, weak coordination between agencies and poor enforcement left the policy largely unimplemented.
An audit by a Supreme Court-appointed road safety committee in March 2024 reviewed 1,400 km of arterial roads maintained by the PWD. The report revealed that 84% of footpaths failed to meet Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards, and only 25% were usable. Signage was also inadequate, with just 31% meeting norms. Of 84 sensitive zones audited, nearly half lacked traffic calming measures, and there were no proper systems to identify and fix accident-prone blackspots, pointing to systemic infrastructure and planning failures.
A report by IIT-Delhi in September 2024 painted a similar picture. It found that around 44% of Delhi’s roads lacked footpaths and only a little over a quarter met IRC standards. In July 2025, the Delhi government announced plans to repair and construct 200 km of footpaths along major roads.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reviewed the project with the PWD, directing officials to begin the tendering process after monsoon. Officials said the aim was to make footpaths ‘walkable’ by removing encroachments, addressing drainage issues, and preventing misuse by two-wheelers. However, given past delays and implementation gaps, the effectiveness of the initiative remains to be seen.
However, for residents, such announcements echo past efforts that failed to translate into a change. Without sustained enforcement, inter-agency coordination, and accountability, the city’s footpaths risk remaining contested spaces.
The Supreme Court verdict
The Supreme Court recently said that the right to walk on demarcated footpaths is a fundamental right and must take precedence over the movement of motorised vehicles.
“The right to walk shall have priority over motorised vehicles on demarcated paths, and it forms part of the right to movement guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (d) and other fundamental rights, including Article 21 (Right to life and liberty) of the Indian Constitution,” said a two-judge bench of Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar in its 13-page verdict.
The bench also, in its judgement, said that a citizen’s fundamental right to walk on a demarcated footpath is primary and shall have priority over movement by motorised vehicles. The court made these observations and declarations while deciding an appeal in a motor accident claim—an incident where a tanker hit a 5-year-old child while he was on his way to school with his father.
Supreme court says
In Maniyar Iliyaz Shaik Riyaz vs P AyyappanThe right to walk on a demarcated footpath is a fundamental right.
Human beings started walking long before wheels were put on the path, and the primary right of movement precedes the right to move on wheels, and this precious right must extend to guaranteeing access to safe and well-demarcated footpaths
This right shall have priority over motorised vehicles on demarcated paths
If the road exists, there is a duty to ensure that there are demarcated and well-maintained footpaths for walkers
Urban development authorities, municipal corporations, municipalities and even panchayats must endeavour to demarcate, construct, maintain, and safeguard footpaths and other necessary pedestrian infrastructure, as walking is integral to life