In a major relief to lakhs of street vendors, the AAP Government on Wednesday directed civic bodies to allow street vendors to operate till their registration process and vending zone is finalised. Top sources told The Pioneer that an order to this effect has been issued by the Directorate of local Bodies that street vendors should not be evicted till further notice.
There are three to five lakh street vendors across the city. The Arvind Kejriwal Government has also made it clear that no new vendors would be allowed in designated hawking zones. The Government had received many complaints from street vendors during their campaigning that civic bodies are not allowing them, even in designated hawking zone. Strangely, less than 50,000 street vendors have been enrolled till date.
“During the first Public meeting with the Chief Minister, several street vendors informed that they are being dislocated despite having carried out their business from the same location for years. It is accordingly directly that the existing street vendors in Delhi should be allowed to operate till exercise of their registration and creating of vending zone is finalised. It should be ensured that no new vendors or hawkers come up and operate in any area of Delhi which is not already designated as vending zone,” the order said.
A Bill regarding protection and regularising of street vendors was passed last year. It came into effect on May 1. But, till date, street vendors say it hasn’t been properly implemented. “We continue to be harassed and exploited by civic agencies. When we tell them that there is a law in place, they act clueless. Even one of the mayors of Delhi didn’t know about the existence of such a law,” said office bearer of the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI). A delegation of NASVI has earlier made a representation to lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief Secretary DM Spolia last month, urging them to implement the Bill. A study by NASVI, a group of 715 organisations representing 4,50,000 street vendors in the country, states that 95 per cent of the 6,00,000 street vendors in Delhi do not have licence. In fact, there are only a handful who know that licence is essential to place a handcart.
Obtaining a licence is no mean feat, tehbazari in every municipal corporation issues the licence. For this, it charges Rs10 to1,000, depending upon the municipal authority. It also asks for a number of documents, which most people do not possess, or are illiterate to produce. Back on the street, they face constant harassment through extortion and eviction. Street vendors pay a whopping Rs600 crore as bribe every year in Delhi alone, states a study by Delhi non-profit Manushi. It was the job of the corporations to identify the vending sites but that hasn’t been done. Police ask vendors for money and those who don’t know much about vending certificates are vulnerable to extortion.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation street vending supports 10 million families in India. The Bill provides for security and protection of the livelihood of all street vendors who have a vending certificate, which will be issued by the Town Vending Committee. The bill approved by the Union Cabinet states that at least 2.5 per cent of a city’s population would be allocated vending zones.