In order to regulate street vending in the areas under its jurisdiction, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), on Wednesday, cleared a proposal under the 'Street Vendors Act', 2014 passed by the Parlaiment recently. The civic agency was asked by the Delhi Government to formulate a policy to streamline the system of street vending in its areas.
“We have prepared a draft in this connection. It will be sent to the Delhi Government soon for its approval,” an NDMC official said. The draft was presented in a council meeting chaired by BJP MP from New Delhi constituency Meenakshi lekhi, who is also a member of the civic agency.
Under the policy, the NDMC will identify illegal squatters and also do a survey on various vending sites available in its areas. The draft policy also contains a plan to issue bar code identification licenses or smart cards for its teh-bazari (street vending) allottees, the official said. However, the decision in this regard will be taken in the next council meeting.
The NDMC is also working on a proposal to relax trade interchangeability norms for sellers at Palika Bazaar. "We have proposed relaxations for traders at Palika Bazaar selling non-licensable goods. They will be able to switch between selling goods without having to seek permission," the official said. The interchangeability of trade for non-licensed goods was not allowed by the civic body till now.
It was also decided to extend the contracts of all its contractual employees from six months to five years in order to bring uniformity in their contracts. "There were employees appointed on a six-month-long or three-month-long contracts. The council has decided to uniformly extend the contract of all such employees to five years," the official said.