Street vendors protest in Shimla; seek withdrawal of verification demands

The Street Vendors Union, affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office on Tuesday, opposing the Shimla Municipal Corporation’s requirement for multiple documents and affidavits for the verification and registration of street vendors. The union also condemned the ongoing eviction drives and demanded that the MC immediately withdraw its directives.

The union urged both the state government and the municipal corporation to halt all eviction operations, implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 in letter and spirit and issue vending certificates to all vendors — both registered and unregistered — to safeguard their livelihoods.

The union’s state president, Vijender Mehra, said vendors cannot be arbitrarily evicted under the provisions of the 2014 Act and in accordance with Supreme Court orders issued in 2007. He criticised the demand for additional documentation and affidavits, calling it “harassment” and a violation of legal and judicial directives.

He alleged gas stoves belonging to street food vendors were being seized and they were being fined Rs 1,000 daily — actions he said are illegal under the Street Vendors Act.

He claimed, over the past six months, vendors had been removed from various parts of the city without being allotted alternative sites, in clear violation of the Street Vending Act. “Despite the law being in force for a decade, many registered vendors have not been issued vending certificates,” he added.

The union also called for regular meetings of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) to address the vendors’ grievances. As a symbolic gesture, protesting vendors set up small stalls inside the DC office premises to express their anger. The union warned it would escalate its agitation if the authorities failed to respond to their demands.