Now, street vendors can earn livelihood with ease

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 1

Finally, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has approved the rules for the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Now, the MC will form a town vending committee (TVC), which will identify vending zones in the city. 

Mayor Poonam Sharma said with the approval of the rules,  street vendors would now be able to earn their livelihood respectfully. MC officials would now implement the rules at the earliest, she said. 

MC Commissioner Bhawna Garg said within six months, they would finalise the formation of the committee and vending zones, and would also issue licences to vendors. 

According to a 2011 survey, there were 7,500 vendors in the city while under the rules, there can be a maximum of 25,000 licensed vendors in the city. They would not only consider the vendors whose names were there in the 2011 survey but also fresh applicants, Bhawna Garg said.

The Act provides for constitution of a TVC in each local authority, which is the fulcrum of the Bill, for implementing the provisions of the Bill. In order to ensure participatory decision-making for aspects relating to street vending activities such as determination of natural market, identification of vending zones, preparation of street vending plan and survey of street vendors, the TVC is required to have representation of officials and street vendors, including women vendors, with due representation from SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and persons with disabilities.

  The Chandigarh Administration, after framing guidelines for regulating street hawkers in Chandigarh, had forwarded these to the ministry for approval. 

According to the guidelines, no licences will be issued for the sale of bidi, cigarette and other tobacco items; no vendor will be allowed to remain stationary at a place for a period more than four hours in a day and will keep on moving to carry out his business without causing any inconvenience to    the public.