HC Directs Action on Irregular Parking on the Roads of City and Encroachment of Pavements

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court reacting to chaotic irregular parking on city roads and shrinking pavements and directed the joint commissioner of police, traffic, the GHMC GHMC and HYDRAA to immediately intensify enforcement drives to clear encroachments from footpaths and restore them for public use. The court directed traffic police and GHMC officials to take immediate action against irregular parking that obstructs traffic and pedestrian movement.

Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar also ordered the authorities to ensure that pavements were protected with permanent fixtures after the encroachments were removed, so that pedestrians could use them to their full extent. The judge directed immediate action and sought a detailed status report by June 9, the next date of hearing.

The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by retired journalist B. Surender along with an advocate and a self-employed senior citizen, who sought urgent measures to improve road conditions, remove garbage, and reclaim pavements from encroachments across Hyderabad and other urban centres in Telangana.

The petitioners argued that the present condition of roads and footpaths had made walking unsafe and nearly impossible, particularly for elderly citizens. They contended that rampant illegal parking by private vehicles and autorickshaws, coupled with large-scale occupation of pavements by encroachers, had forced pedestrians on to busy roads, thereby exposing them to serious risks.

According to the petition, in several areas nearly half of the road width was lost to unauthorised parking and encroachments, resulting in severe traffic congestion and making it difficult even for buses and emergency vehicles to move freely. They submitted that illegal parking in front of commercial spaces caused obstruction to vehicular movement and resulted in traffic jams and was forcing the pedestrians to walk on the roads which would leave them vulnerable to accidents. The petitioners highlighted the absence of footpaths on many stretches of roads, calling it a direct threat to public safety and a violation of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Justice Shravan Kumar noted the seriousness of the grievances and emphasised that issues such as illegal roadside parking, occupation of pavements, and poor road maintenance required immediate attention. The court observed that the continued neglect of pedestrian infrastructure had caused widespread inconvenience to commuters and vulnerable groups, especially senior citizens.

The petitioners urged the court to direct authorities to undertake a “ clean-up operation” across the twin cities in coordination with all agencies concerned. They also sought active cooperation from HYDRAA, arguing that footpaths and public streets form part of urban public spaces that must remain accessible to citizens.

Referring to Supreme Court precedents, the petitioners pointed out that the apex court had earlier recommended formulation of nationwide pedestrian safety guidelines. However, the counsel for GHMC informed the Court that special drives had already been initiated pursuant to earlier directions issued in removing the encroachments on the pavements.