Shiban Khaibri
shibankhaibri@gmail.com
Some pertinent questions arise in respect of rights and duties of private car owners, two wheeler owners etc as to whether they have only to be , as they otherwise should scrupulously be, always conscious of their duties, obligations and taking all-round care while driving on roads and while parking their vehicles, not to speak of driving a registered vehicle only with all formalities complete – -insurance , driving licence, pollution control norms compliance -etc and maintaining proper traffic discipline but , perhaps, have no rights? The common people tend to believe that not only duties are very much important but rights too are no less important . It is another thing that rights are either not exercised or mostly are not allowed to be exercised due to a system which is not so active , prompt and responsive to that important aspect. It can be argued that duties and rights are interdependent. They are not mere theoretical concepts nor assumptions especially the aspect of “rights” because rights and duties are supposed to be the two faces of the same coin . Not entirely theoretically speaking , one can never exist without the other . Someone’s right , therefore, has a corresponding duty which someone else should shoulder , discharge and act on the ground so that the particular right is fulfilled. The process gives space and cause for reciprocal relationships and more importantly, functional legal systems.
Reverting to private vehicle owners’ rights , we, the owners of private cars, jeeps, two wheelers etc have implied rights to good and smooth motor-able roads . Do we get them ? Roads , smooth and non troublesome – are cardinal and uncompromising basic requirements of driving a vehicle safely , other things remaining the same . We, the private vehicle owners ( hereinafter referred to vehicle owners for brevity) have right to access authorised parking lots and spaces on and just nearby roads. Do we get them even on payment except at very few places in the city with quite limited and scant capacity? You have a vehicle and just , at a spot on the road which creates no obstruction to the free movement of traffic , you stop (read park) for two to three minutes to buy some essential items, medicines, vegetables , milk etc but unfortunately you are often slapped with a challan for having committed an offence of wrong and obstructive parking . When such a notice reaches you, how much frustration , anguish and worry encompass you, is perhaps not known to the authorised Traffic Officer who agreeably is the authority on the spot, to instantaneously take cognizance of the ”offence” to decide to book you for paying a penalty . Even if one wants to contest the challan for proving to be innocent and having parked the vehicle at a spot not likely to cause any traffic problems , there may be windows and avenues for it but seemingly those are on paper , otherwise highly time consuming, hectic in follow-up and rather proving an exercise in futility and the wisdom, therefore, lies in paying the fine which now thankfully has been made easy – with introducing of on-line payment disposal .
The element of surprise of receiving the notice of challan or a ticket for having parked the vehicle at “wrong place” causing anguish and surprise with no provision of catharsis except , at the cost of repetition , to pay it but the question that of authorities not caring for fulfilling their duties towards the vehicle owners , by not providing good motor-able roads punctuated with parking slots , cannot be ignored . Good roads with associated facilities for vehicle users can be linked with Article 21 of the constitution which deals with fundamental right to life . The right , however, applies to all citizens per-se, not only to vehicle owners /drivers but carries special importance for those who have to use roads daily.
In our city , especially those busiest ones but not frequented by VIPs , can, any road be declared to be pothole free , dangerous hollows free, worn out and menacingly damaged patches free , wide gaps and trenches like free ? The experience of drivers driving over such ”ploughed” roads is horrible and nightmarish not only during rains and inclement weather conditions but even thereafter , say, normally usually throughout the year . Wheels alignment and other problems caused to vehicles are to be fixed periodically that are caused only due to roads in hopelessly bad conditions . Whom to hold responsible ? The option of lodging protest peacefully but effectively guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(b) against the conduct of the administration , in the instant case, to impress upon the government to act , is not exercised as the private vehicle owners have no union strength and as such no bargaining power despite paying hefty road tax on one time basis, in advance . The case is totally well different with other vehicles which are of commercial utility like trucks, wagons, buses , matadors, e-buses, taxi and auto rickshaws etc etc as they have strong unions and therefore strong bargaining power. Though the numbers of cars, Motor cycles, scooters etc outnumber other vehicles running on the roads, yet the vehicles owners keep suffering silently .
The Supreme court of India has repeatedly affirmed that the right to safe , well maintained and motor-able roads is an integral part of the right to life. This assertion is based on the reasoning that bad roads can cause serious accidents, injuries and fatalities thereby threatening the lives of the citizens. If roads are poorly maintained , which in most of the cases they are , free and unhindered movement is affected , as also economic activities are affected , which again , legally speaking , comes under the cover of the fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). The states and the UTs , and their respective authorities, therefore, are under statutory and constitutional obligation to arrange proper maintenance of roads. The government can neither escape responsibility nor accountability even if the weather is not conducive to necessary repairs nor if such maintenance work is outsourced . The condition of most of the roads in our city becomes horrible just after one heavy downpour which can be attributed to poor quality standards norms . Why should we not have roads built in such a way as to sustain the effect of rains. Agreed, in cases of abnormal conditions like massive floods, inundation etc even strongly built roads with proper quality standards adherence , damages can occur but we have not usually seen or used roads which can be termed as well maintained and thus ideal for motoring . The city, especially the old city including areas right from Jewel Chowk , BC Road, Amphala to Janipur -Bantalab and other connecting roads require immediate attention looking to the pitiable conditions and numerous damaged portions . The condition of connecting various colonies and inner roads is beyond description looking to the punctuation of potholes, trenches, flowing and seeping water across such roads , conditions worsened due to overnight and even day time parking of vehicles hindering movement of essential emergency services like ambulances, fire , water, police and other services. Parking of vehicles on both sides of roads , especially on colony roads, connecting roads and even narrow lanes, require some sort of solution so that the rights of those who have to pass through such roads and lanes to reach home and to park their such vehicles in their compounds, owned garages and other private space are not put to avoidable troubles.
The foremost indicator and parameter of economic development is provision of better, well maintained quality roads and associated infrastructure to ensure hassles free movement of people and goods to ensure economic growth and other activities in offices, factories, shops, malls , educational institutions and the like. Vehicles do not suffer damages and other problems thus leading to decreased maintenance expenses and fuel efficiency cost when roads are made adequately motor-able . Market access becomes easy which otherwise, due to bad roads and frequent and indiscriminate slapping of challans for “wrong parking” , plays an opposite role. People, in that case, resort to massive on-line shopping thus our local markets, shops , stores etc suffer on account of poor sales. Therefore, make movement of people easy to ensure market spending , which, however, does not mean that real traffic offenders including those of wrong and obstructive parking should not be penalised but innocents should not suffer.
Jammu roads are otherwise choked with traffic jams which require immediate solutions not on ephemeral basis , not on patch working basis and not on ad-hoc basis. Number of vehicles is increasing on Jammu city roads while space remains the same and highly inelastic. Imagine the position likely to emerge within just five years should contributing and associated things remain the same.
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