Chandigarh’s roadside tandoors to be shifted after SC order

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri may not find the go-to roadside food at the famous Narinder Singh ji ka Dhaba during his next visit. The fate of the Sector 19 establishment, and countless others, is in limbo after the Supreme Court order over tandoor, parantha and chhole kulche stalls.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed a 2020 UT Administration notification that had expanded the definition of Essential Service Providers (ESPs) to include vendors selling items such as chhole-bhature, kulche-chhole, parathas, fruits, vegetables and flowers outside places of worship. The roadside tandoors, as a result, will be relocated from their existing spots to the designated vending zones meant for other non-essential services. Narinder Singh, owner of the namesake dhaba, said he has been running the tandoor from the same place for over 42 years. “My father started the tandoor in Sector 18. Then he shifted to Sector 19-C, where Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri paid a visit in 2024,” he recalled. Puri interacted with Singh’s father and relished the dhaba’s dal tadka. Among others, cricketer Dinesh Mongia and comedian Jaspal Bhatti have also frequented the establishment.

Another vendor, Nepal Singh, who has been selling kulche-chhole and parathas near PGI, said relocation could spell doom for such businesses.

Besides the eateries, the order is also set to affect fruit, vegetables and flower shops set up outside shrines.

All these services were included in the essential services category under the bylaws notified as part of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, in 2020.

Mukesh Giri, a vendor selling fruits in Sector 42, said the order will have a serious impact. “It is not possible to run such a business from a non-essential service providers (NESPs) vending zones.”

Suraj, a flower vendor, echoed the sentiment, saying people buy flowers before entering temples. “If they shift such shops away from temples, who will travel multiple kilometres just to buy flowers?” he questioned. Addressing the issue, Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar said the civic body was bound to implement the order. He added that the department concerned was examining how many vendors would be affected.

The Municipal Corporation has been asked to file a compliance report by the next date of hearing.