Navi Mumbai: The practice of hand-rickshaw pulling continues atop the Matheran hill station three months after the expiry of the Supreme Court judgment abolishing the same. The apex court in its judgment on August 6, 2025, set a six-month deadline. Till today, 69 out of 94 licence owners are pulling the handcarts. Only 25 manual rickshaw licensees have been provided with e-rickshaws by the state till date.
Supreme Court Directive and Kevadia Model
The apex court directed the state government to evolve a scheme like the Kevadia model in Gujarat considering the livelihood aspect of the hand-rickshaw pullers. Under the Kevadia model, e-rickshaw operators pay a fixed amount daily to the local-level authority and become the owner of the vehicle after a fixed time period.
Monitoring Committee and Subcommittee Actions
The Matheran Eco-Sensitive Zone Monitoring Committee was asked to identify the genuine handcart or rickshaw pullers. The committee has to decide on the number of e-rickshaws, taking into consideration the ground realities.
The committee formed a subcommittee, which recommended the operation of 80 e-rickshaws in February this year. The committee again asked the subcommittee to review its recommendation, possibly keeping in mind various factors such as road space, among others. The subcommittee is headed by the subdistrict officer, Karjat, Prakash Sakpal.
Union's Allegations and Response
The petition was filed by the hand-rickshaw and handcart union, Shramik Rickshaw Chaalak Maalak Sanstha. The union secretary, Sunil Shinde, alleged, “The subcommittee has not yet submitted the report. The committee did not set a deadline for submission of the report by the subcommittee. Hence, the judgment has not been implemented in letter and spirit, forcing us to consider filing a ‘Contempt Petition.’”
When contacted, Sakpal said, “The report considering the opinion of the Matheran Hill Station Municipal Council will be submitted to the committee soon.”
