The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 15, 2025) asked whether the money received from the government treasury should be used to build housing, health and educational facilities for the poor or to lay cycle tracks in the country.
The bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan, while hearing the petition regarding construction of separate cycle tracks across the country, said that development in the country is not uniform. The bench asked the petitioner’s lawyer, ‘Tell us whether the money received from the government treasury should be used to create residential and educational facilities for the poor or for this (to build separate cycle tracks)?’
The Supreme Court also said, ‘There is a serious problem of housing facilities for the poor in all major cities. People are living in slums. There is lack of health facilities and educational facilities for the poor. Should all these primary facilities be provided or these cycle tracks?’
The court initially referred to the petitioner’s request and wondered whether such relief could be granted. The bench said, ‘You want that separate cycle tracks should be built all over India. This is very ambitious. The petitioner’s lawyer said that there are cycle tracks in many states.
He said that there is a cycle track outside one of the gates of the Supreme Court, but it is not available at the turn. The petitioner’s counsel cited the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, which focuses on infrastructure development in selected cities and towns. The bench said, ‘How can we issue such a mandamus (to build a separate cycle track), this is a daydream of the petitioner.’
The lawyer cited the issue of pollution in Delhi-NCR during winter and said that having separate cycle tracks can help reduce the problem. The bench fixed February 10 for further hearing in this matter.
Also read:-
‘Has anyone even touched her?’, gave relief to former IAS probationary officer Pooja Khedkar but SC imposed class on the lawyer