The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has appointed a Patna-based non governmental organisation, Sammaan Foundation, to survey and identify street vendors presently doing business on the streets of Ranchi. This bodes well for hawkers awaiting a concrete step towards getting the vending zones they were promised some two years ago.
On orders from Urban Development Department, the name of the agency was finalised in a meeting chaired by RMC Municipal Commissioner Prashant Kumar with constituent members of the now defunct Town Vending Committee (TVC) and representatives of street vendor associations. Representatives of the agency displayed a presentation regarding strategies for this project.
A team of surveyors from the nominated agency inspected Main Road on Monday morning to begin the survey. The survey will begin the earliest from Saturday, informed Deputy Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Kumar.
The street vendors have been asked to carry copies of their Aadhar cards for the sake of identification. The hawkers who will be certified in this survey will be issued digital identity cards by Sammaan Foundation. The survey is estimated to cover around 45,000 street vendors from all over the city, with the entire process to be completed by April this year.
The urban local body has gained the trust of street vendor associations too for this survey, it seems. “We have made it clear that we will extend our full support to the agency in successfully completing this survey. But there are still are certain points, stopping ineligible street vendors from being enlisted, for instance, where we demand authorities’ attention,” said Anita Das, General Secretary of Ranchi Footpath Dukandar-Hawkers’ Association.
To negate this possibility, Sammaan Foundation has been instructed to enlist only street vendors physically present with required documentation, informed a RMC official. “We have requested that the vending certificates issued by the previous Town Vending Committee to be used as a proof of identification,” Das said.
The new TVC will be convened after RMC receives the list of street vendors identified during the survey. They later will elect their representatives for the Committee as per the rules formulated by the State Government according to provisions of The Street Vendors Act, 2014.
This survey will serve as a parameter to figure out the number of beneficiaries who will get be accommodated in the 10 proposed vending zones all over the city. We will be able to understand our requirements before building the infrastructure, said a civic guardian.