The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government and civic authorities to suggest ways to limit the number of vehicles on Mumbai roads.
A bench of Justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre also asked the state transport department if it was possible to impose a condition that one must produce proof of having access to adequate parking space when buying a vehicle.
The Transport Department and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) should submit their suggestions within two weeks, the court said.
"A person who can't afford to buy a car can't even walk on the sidewalk because there are vehicles parked illegally. You (the state) are snatching his right by indiscriminately allowing so many vehicles on the road and permitting their owners to park illegally," the bench said.
"Does the BMC have any data on how many residents or families own more than one car? Lakhs of new vehicles are registered every day in the city. This can't be permitted to continue," it said.
The high court was hearing a public interest litigation claiming that the increasing number of private vehicles on the city's roads and the lack of adequate parking space were inconveniencing the public at large.
During an earlier hearing, the bench had cautioned the BMC that the city would soon run out of open space if a solution wasn't found to the problem of burgeoning number of private vehicles and illegal parking.
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