Therefore, we launched a campaign to get every political party to commit to better policies and implementation of sustainable mobility in their election manifesto. Partnering with URJA, a collective of 2500 RWAs in Delhi, we launched a campaign asking citizens to sign the petition on our suggestions that should be adopted by political parties for their green manifestos.
We reached out to the citizens of Delhi through WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and emails to join us and push for stronger commitment from their leaders. Within a period of a week, we collected over 8200 signatures from the citizens supporting our demands.
Some of the key demands were:
- Develop NMT and Cycling Master Plan for MCD roads to – Integrate cycling tracks and parking on all roads to enable smooth flow for cyclists.
- Increase use of rickshaws for first and last-mile connectivity with public transport.
- Register e-rickshaws and tricycle rickshaw vehicles with a colour / number code of the respective zone.
- Provide designated parking spaces around public offices and no subsidised parking to be provided for private vehicles in public places across Delhi.
- Mark designated spaces for parking of para-transport / feeder modes/ NMT on priority with subsidy.
- All new Municipal government vehicles procured to be electric from 2022 with charging infrastructure on their routes.
- Set up used battery replacement centres in every assembly area for recycling and safe handling.
- Establish a Walkway & Pedestrian Authority under RWCs to develop pedestrian-friendly public routes in every ward that help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DECISION MAKERS
After collecting a significant number of signatures on our petition, our team of volunteers, along with URJA representatives reached out to different political parties. We met BJP’s convener of the Election Manifesto Committee, Mr. Satish Upadhyaya and AAP’s MCD election incharge, Mr. Durgesh Pathak and recorded their positive commitments on our manifesto.
“We will try our best to implement citizen’s suggestions mentioned in the manifesto if we come to power in MCD. In principle, we agree with all the suggestions they have made”, said Durgesh Pathak.
“We are already working on our vision document and we will try to incorporate most of their suggestions in it. We will also make sure that if we come to power in MCD, their suggestions will be implemented in a planned manner”, said Satish Upadhyay from BJP.
Media Mentions and Milestones
Our campaign got covered by city based publications like Times of India and City Spidey.
BJP’s manifesto ultimately mentioned free bicycles for school girls while Aam Aadmi Party’s manifesto mentioned a promise to provide a permanent and practical solution to the problem of parking space along with a commitment to repair broken MCD roads in the city.
