Key facts
- Around 45 million people in India walk to work daily, making them the largest group of road users.
- India's Supreme Court has declared the right to walk safely on designated footpaths a fundamental right.
- Pedestrian infrastructure in Indian cities is often poor, unsafe, and neglected, leading to numerous accidents.
- Urban planning has historically prioritized vehicles over pedestrians, marginalizing walkers.
- Lack of safe crossings and continuous footpaths forces pedestrians into dangerous situations.
For decades, walking in Indian cities has been a hazardous negotiation rather than a fundamental right. Despite millions of daily walkers, urban infrastructure has consistently neglected pedestrian needs, prioritizing vehicles and creating dangerous conditions. This reality was underscored when India's Supreme Court declared in June that the right to walk safely on designated footpaths is a fundamental right, a decision that challenges decades of urban planning focused on cars.
Walking remains the most democratic and dominant form of transport in India. Census-based estimates suggest around 45 million people walk to work daily, significantly more than those who commute by private cars. Pedestrians constitute the largest group of road users, with a 2019 survey indicating 63% of all journeys were made on foot in selected cities. Many of these are 'captive pedestrians' who walk out of necessity, often women, who face the greatest risks despite contributing least to congestion and pollution.
Evidence of poor pedestrian infrastructure is widespread. Footpaths are frequently broken, narrow, inaccessible, or blocked by parked vehicles, encroachments, and utility works. Zebra crossings are often ignored, and infrastructure like flyovers forces pedestrians into hazardous detours. A 2011 study found Indian streets routinely fail pedestrians due to "poor and unsafe" infrastructure, with a median walkability score of just 47 out of 100 in surveyed cities. Transport scholars note that pedestrians have been "pushed to the margins of the road networks."
The consequences are dire, with pedestrians being the second-largest group of road accident victims after two-wheeler riders. In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, they account for over half of all road deaths. Crashes cost India an estimated 3-5% of its GDP annually. The Supreme Court case that led to the landmark ruling was initiated by the tragic death of a five-year-old boy hit by a truck while walking to school.
Judges emphasized that walking is "inextricably connected to life" and that the state has a duty to provide safe footpaths, stating, "The fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths shall override the privilege of a motorised vehicle." This ruling directly confronts urban planning paradigms that have prioritized expressways and flyovers, making walking invisible to planners. Advocacy groups like Mumbai's Walking Project are working to change this mindset by encouraging residents to observe and demand better pedestrian facilities.
Researchers like Rahul Goel at IIT Delhi point to governance as a key issue, questioning whether footpaths are maintained and protected from encroachment. Poor design, such as cars parked perpendicular to the kerb or vehicles on pavements, further exacerbates the problem. Footpaths are often too narrow, too high above the road, or end abruptly, forcing pedestrians back onto the carriageway. The fundamental problem, Goel argues, is a lack of priority for pedestrians, with civic agencies reluctant to widen footpaths and traffic congestion dominating public and official attention.
This situation creates stark urban inequality. While those who can afford cars and motorcycles claim more public space, pedestrians, particularly domestic workers and laborers, are left to risk their lives. Walking is increasingly confined to gated communities or gyms, turning a basic form of exercise into a dangerous activity in a country grappling with rising lifestyle diseases. Achieving pedestrian-friendly cities requires more than court orders; it necessitates a fundamental rethinking of urban design and priorities.