It seems the long-standing issue of relocation of street vendors in State capital will never be free of impediments. Testament to this is the survey of hawkers, started by the State Government earlier this month, which is yet to gather steam in Ranchi due to friction between the urban local body and street vendors.
With a view to identify roadside peddlers before regulating them, the urban development department appointed Sammaan Foundation, a Patna-based NGO, to survey them, but the process has failed to cover as much ground as expected in the State capital.
“Our surveyors are doing their job regularly but the numbers we expected to produce in Ranchi are just not coming. Street vendors are not co-operating due to their differences with RMC. This has not been a problem in other cities we are conducting surveys in,” stated Abid Ashraf Khan, Programme Manager at Sammaan Foundation overseeing the survey.
This lag resulted from the tussle between Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) and representatives of street vendors over allegedly bypassing the Town Vending Committee (TVC) in the process. Representatives of city’s street vendors have cried foul over appointing a private entity for surveying street vendors without consulting the TVC.
“TVC was not informed about assigning Sammaan Foundation for surveying street vendors and forming vending rules and demarcating vending zones. Although no official declaration was made to the effect of disbanding the TVC formed three years ago, it was bypassed in appointing the agency,” said Anita Das, General Secretary, Ranchi Footpath Dukaandar-Hawkers Association.
On the other hand, civic guardians supervising the survey claim this survey to be a means to identify legitimate street vendors, who will be later called upon to elect a new TVC.
“Instead of using the survey conducted in the past as the voters list for electing street vendors’ representatives in the TVC, we are carrying out the process anew. Measures like registering hawkers with pictorial evidence and genuine identification and issuing digital identity cards are being employed to prevent any undeserving candidates from hijacking the benefits meant for deserving ones,” stated Vikas Kumar, City Mission Manager in RMC’s NUlM Cell.
The survey will help in ascertaining the number of street vendors currently doing business in the city and further formulate effective plans for their rehabilitation, another front where conflicts have risen between RMC and roadside hawkers.
“Sammaan Foundation is merely providing us technical support and required manpower for aiding the street vendors of Ranchi. The entire process is still handled by RMC only,” Kumar said.
Now, Sammaan Foundation is looking up to its upcoming meeting with street vendors to overcome the hindrance in the survey work. “We will be sitting down with representatives of street vendors to find golden mean in the scenario. Hopefully, the impediment will be resolved,” said the Programme Manager.