Street vendors’ survey starts next month in Panchkula

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 26

The Haryana Government has decided to conduct a survey of street vendors in Panchkula. An agency has been hired for it, which will, in association with the Municipal Corporation, start the survey next month.

Notably, Parliament had passed the Street Vendors’ (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which guarantees them the right to work as a street vendors. They can be evicted only as per provisions of the Act.

Panchkula MC Commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said they had recently held a meeting of the town vending committee. The ground work had been completed and the survey would start soon, he said. In 2015, vendors had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They had sought directions to the government and the MC not to evict them, except as per provisions of the Act.

Remove encroachments, demand residents

Residents, on the other hand, complained to the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Municipal Corporation (MC) and sthe district administration regarding the encroachment of city roads by vendors. Rakesh Aggarwal, chairman, Lok Sarvhitkari Society, Panchkula, said illegal vendors had encroached upon every possible space in the city. “Be it roads or open spaces, street vendors are operating everywhere with the support of the authorities. The issue was raised at every forum but the authorities failed to solve the problem,” he said.