Now Reading: SC orders Centre to pick 5 cities for footpath pilot project
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SC orders Centre to pick 5 cities for footpath pilot project
The Supreme Court on Monday, 5 October 2026, directed the Centre to identify five cities for a pilot project to ensure properly demarcated and encroachment-free footpaths wherever there is a road. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe also asked the Centre to name a centralised authority responsible for implementing the directions, one with adequate funds, staff and infrastructure.
The court posted the matter for hearing after three weeks. The directions follow a June 19 verdict that declared the right to walk on a demarcated footpath a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(d) read with Article 21, and held that every road carries a duty to provide footpaths. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj said he would report back on the identification of cities and the authority.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All three outlets, Orissa Post, Times Now and LiveLaw, carried near-identical wire copy of the Supreme Court's 5 October hearing, with no editorial framing beyond straight reporting of the bench's directions. Orissa Post led with the five-city pilot, LiveLaw gave equal weight to the demand for a centralised authority. None omitted or editorialised the court's June 19 declaration that the right to walk is a fundamental right. The coverage is uniform, leaving no divergence to analyse. The practical next step is the Centre's reply on the authority and city list due in three weeks.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): orissapost.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (neutral report), livelaw.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
