This article was first published in the print edition of Manushi Journal. (Issue-134, Jan-Feb 2003)
We had carried a report on the absurd, discriminatory laws and regulations that control the working of the rickshaw sector in Delhi in Issue No. 125 of MANUSHI entitled, “Licence-Quota-Raid Raj: Economic Warfare Against Rickshaw Owners and Pullers.” To recap the findings of our study of the rickshaw sector in brief:
Municipal authorities “control” the number of rickshaws through a license-quota system. The city administration has declared that it will not allow more than 90,000 licenses for the entire city of Delhi, although there is no ceiling on the number of cars, scooters, and other motorized vehicles plying in Delhi. Municipal authorities admit that there are 500,000 to 600,000 cycle rickshaws in Delhi for carrying passengers as well as for carting goods, fruits, vegetables, and, even, for the removal of garbage. Till last year, municipal licenses were issued to about 73,000 cycle rickshaws. This restrictive policy has resulted in a flourishing extortion racket for issuing and renewing licenses, as well as monthly bribes for allowing rickshaws to continue to work without licenses…