In a bid to settle down the street vendors of the Capital City at different localities, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has finalised the sites of the vending zones. In accordance to the fresh proposal of the Civic Body as many as four localities have been demarcated as ‘Vending Zones’ within the municipal corporation area after the rounds of survey.
“Upper Bazaar Haat (covering the Bakri Bazaar location), Near Doranda College, AG More (Adjacent to Mecon Gate) and Booty More (near Circle Office) have been declared as ‘Vending Zones’. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared keeping in mind the population of the particular area. Soon, work will be started on this project,” said, City Manager and NULM Mission Cell In-charge, Vikash Kumar.
Notably, during the survey conducted by the Municipal Corporation in 2017 as many as 12 locations here were taken into the consideration that included a place near Doranda College, Upper Bazaar Haat (Opposite Bakri Bazaar), a location near Sewa Sadan, Nepal House, AG More, lalpur (near distillery pool), Booty More, HEC, Argora Ground, Dhurwa Ground for creation of vending zones.
In accordance to the guidelines of Government of India (GoI) including the State Government, as many as 36,831 street vendors have been identified, out of which 5,901 street vendors are from Ranchi for rehabilitation under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) scheme. So, far, the RMC has made the arrangements for around 400 street vendors at the newly constructed ‘Atal Smriti Market’ inaugurated recently.
Furthermore, as per the record, 16,141 Identity (ID) cards have been distributed among the street vendors across the State while 238 street vendors have been linked with banking facilities under the welfare scheme after the constitution of Town Vending Committee (TVC) in all 44 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the State.
Under another plan, Rs. 98 crore of 14th Finance Commission will be invested for uplifting the life of the street vendors. Moreover, the State Government has assured to the street vendors that soon under different welfare schemes such as insurance coverage, inclusion of street vendors in Ayushmaan Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Skill development scheme etc, the vendors too will be provided with all essential services.
In addition, according to the senior official, as many as five vegetable markets are likely to be constructed within the State Capital shortly.