Sectors 17, 19, 22 no-vending zones

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 28

Sectors 17, 19 and 22 in the city have been declared no-vending zones with the Municipal Corporation getting approval from the UT Chief Architect for its proposal. These three sectors have a huge problem of vending.

Sectors 1 to 6, which house the who’s who of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana, and famous tourist places Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden have also been declared no-vending zones.

A total of 36 sectors with 40 sites for 10,198 street vendors have been cleared by the UT Department of Urban Planning. In the first phase, Chandigarh-based street vendors will be adjusted according to the sites earmarked by the department. Also, 2,568 mobile street vendors will be permitted and 2,405 essential services vendors can vend from their original sites subject to non-violation of vending norms.

The vending zones include Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 36, 38, 46 and 54 and most southern areas. 

At a meeting today, Mayor Asha Kumari Jaswal stressed the need for increasing coverage in other areas, including Dadu Majra, Maloya, Bhaskar Colony, Sector 25, the Sector 26 transport area, Sector 39, Vikas Nagar and Mauli Jagran keeping in view poor people’s livelihood. 

She said, “We should not make Aadhaar mandatory for Chandigarh residents; we should also accept other residence proofs such as the voter card.” Meanwhile, all these issues will be tabled for post-facto approval at the MC House meeting on June 30.  

Monthly fee, penalty

For the first time in Chandigarh, a fixed monthly fee and penalty for different kind of street vendors has been introduced by the Municipal Corporation. It has been decided that mobile (moving) vendors will pay a monthly vending fee between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 while for stationary vendors, the charges will be between Rs 300 and Rs 2,000 depending on the area they are operating in.

In case, any street vendor commits an offence, he will have to pay a penalty of Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 for the first, second and third violation, respectively. 

His licence will be cancelled following three violations and the vendor will have to apply for a licence afresh. Those involved in unauthorised street vending will have to pay a fine of Rs 15,000. The goods will also be seized.

Other than this, the vendors will have to pay a nominal fee for ID cards, vending certificate and registration. The vending fee has to be deposited by the 10th of every month at e-Sampark centres or through the online mode. There will be 10 per cent annual increase in the vending fee. Vendor registration will be valid for three years and there will be a 25 per cent discount for divyangs, women and aged vendors. The final nod will be given by the House meet.

Responsibilities of street vendors

• Vending at the place specified in the vending certificate
• Compliance with all conditions specified in the certificate
• Display of permit at the vending place
• Compliance with safety, sanitary and the Food Adulteration Act requirements 

Civic services in vending zones

• Movable public toilets and drinking water facilities will be provided
• Proper collection of solid waste but cleanliness of bay to be done by vendor     
• Lighting/power energy through electric gadgets; no individual water/electricity connection permitted 

No-vending zone

• No vending allowed in area specified by the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee and within 100 metres of all government buildings, including offices, school, colleges and hospitals     
• No vending allowed on V1, V2 and V3 roads and within 50 metres of any crossing of two or more roads or roundabout     

Survey started in July 2016

This survey started in July 2016 under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, with the objective of registering and rehabilitating vendors so that they are not exploited.