Year on, town committee lying defunct, vendors bear the brunt in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, January 16

Proper implementation of the Street Vendors Act has taken a hit in the city. The Town Vending Committee, which was formed in 2016 for the implementation of the Act, has been lying defunct for nearly one year.

The five-year tenure of the committee ended in March last year. Since then, it is yet to be constituted.

Due to scant regard to the implementation of the Act, several vending sites, which were approved by the civic body, continue to lie vacant in various parts of the city. Several registered as well as unregistered street vendors continue to operate from non-designated areas, defeating the purpose of the Act.

The committee first failed to provide proper sites to vendors. As a result, spaces remained vacant. It is yet to give alternative approved sites to the vendors.

Registered vendors, who wanted to raise several issues, especially during the pandemic, feel helpless in the absence of the committee. After the formation of the committee, a fresh survey of registered as well as unregistered vendors is to be held.

VN Sharma, one of the members of the now defunct panel, said: “The Town Vending Committee should have been formed by now. Vendors approach us with issues such as payment and vending sites. We cannot take up the issue further as the panel does not exist in Chandigarh.”

MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra said: “The committee will be formed by the month-end. We have received applications. However, due to the Chandigarh MC poll, the applications could not be processed further.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned several registered vendors defaulters as they failed to deposit their monthly licence fee with the civic body. Though they got some fee exemption, it was not enough for some who have poor sale at their sites. A total of 10,917 registered vendors, divided in three categories - essential, non-essential and street vendors - were registered following a survey in 2016, but the pandemic rendered about 30-40 per cent of the vendors defaulters in the city.

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