UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How should cities reclaim footpaths?
Q1. In Maniyar Iliyaz v. P. Ayyappan (2026), the Supreme Court identified the 'primary right of movement', from which it derived the Fundamental Right to Walk on safe footpaths, as flowing chiefly from which one of the following constitutional provisions?
- A. Article 19(1)(d)
- B. Article 21
- C. Article 19(1)(g)
- D. Article 300A
Q2. In its 2026 footpath judgment, the Supreme Court directed a set of Union ministries to examine a comprehensive statutory framework for footpaths. How many Union ministries were so directed?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Five
Q3. Under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, what does a 'Certificate of Vending' issued to a street vendor essentially confer?
- A. The right to vend within a designated vending zone as identified through the survey, subject to the Act's terms
- B. A permanent, heritable and transferable title to a specific spot on any public street of the vendor's choice
- C. A blanket exemption from all municipal taxes, fees and vending charges
- D. Automatic ex-officio membership of the Town Vending Committee of that area
Q4. Under Section 22 of the Street Vendors Act, 2014, what is the minimum proportion of the members of a Town Vending Committee that must consist of elected representatives of street vendors?
- A. 25 per cent
- B. One-third (about 33 per cent)
- C. 40 per cent
- D. 50 per cent
Q5. In the governance framework created by the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the 'Greater Bengaluru Authority' is best described as which of the following?
- A. The apex tier that harmonises planning and service delivery across the five City Corporations
- B. The single municipal corporation that directly succeeded the BBMP for the whole city
- C. The lowest tier of citizen participation constituted at the level of each ward
- D. The state department that administers all urban local bodies across Karnataka
Q6. The 10-day 'Safe Footpath' drive of July 2026 that cleared encroachments across Bengaluru's footpaths was operationalised principally by which body?
- A. The five City Corporations functioning under the Greater Bengaluru Authority
- B. Exclusively the Bengaluru City Traffic Police
- C. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) as a single citywide corporation
- D. The Bangalore Development Authority acting alone
Q7. Reasonable restrictions on a citizen's right to carry on street vending as an occupation are constitutionally authorised under which provision?
- A. Article 19(6)
- B. Article 19(2)
- C. Article 19(5)
- D. Article 19(1)(g)
Q8. The right of a street vendor to carry on vending as a legitimate occupation flows principally from which fundamental right?
- A. Article 19(1)(g) - right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
- B. Article 19(1)(d) - right to move freely throughout the territory of India
- C. Article 21 - right to life and personal liberty
- D. Article 19(1)(c) - right to form associations or unions
Q9. Consider the following statements comparing two pre-2014 Supreme Court decisions on street vending:
1. In Sodan Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Committee (1989), the Court held that street trading is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g), yet no citizen has a fundamental right to trade at a particular spot on a public street.
2. In Gainda Ram v. MCD (2010), a three-Judge Bench held that there is no fundamental right to carry on street vending in a manner that creates unsanitary and unhygienic conditions.
3. Both these judgments were delivered after the enactment of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- In Sodan Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Committee (1989), the Court held that street trading is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g), yet no citizen has a fundamental right to trade at a particular spot on a public street.
- In Gainda Ram v. MCD (2010), a three-Judge Bench held that there is no fundamental right to carry on street vending in a manner that creates unsanitary and unhygienic conditions.
- Both these judgments were delivered after the enactment of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q10. With reference to pre-2014 Supreme Court jurisprudence on street vending, consider the following case-and-principle pairings:
1. Sodan Singh v. NDMC - street trading is protected as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g).
2. Sodan Singh v. NDMC - the State may regulate street trading through reasonable restrictions in the public interest.
3. Gainda Ram v. MCD - a vendor has an absolute fundamental right to a permanent site of his own choosing on any public road.
4. Gainda Ram v. MCD - selling cooked food in a manner creating unhygienic conditions is not a protected fundamental right.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Sodan Singh v. NDMC - street trading is protected as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g).
- Sodan Singh v. NDMC - the State may regulate street trading through reasonable restrictions in the public interest.
- Gainda Ram v. MCD - a vendor has an absolute fundamental right to a permanent site of his own choosing on any public road.
- Gainda Ram v. MCD - selling cooked food in a manner creating unhygienic conditions is not a protected fundamental right.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q11. Under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the Greater Bengaluru Authority - the apex body coordinating footpath and street management across the city's corporations - is chaired by which functionary?
- A. The Chief Minister of Karnataka
- B. The Mayor of the Central City Corporation of Bengaluru
- C. The Chief Secretary of Karnataka
- D. The Municipal Commissioner heading the erstwhile BBMP
Q12. The restructured PM SVANidhi Scheme, as approved by the Union Cabinet in 2025, aims to benefit approximately how many street vendors in total?
- A. 50 lakh
- B. 1.15 crore
- C. 1 crore
- D. 2 crore