Corpn dissolves vending zone panels

Following an order of Madras High Court, the Greater Chennai Corporation has dissolved town vending committees that were constituted in 2018 to regulate street vending across the city.

“The court has ordered to dissolve and reconstitute the committees after vendors approached it citing violation of norms while forming the panels. Measures have been taken to reconstitute them,” an official said.

In order to regulate the street vending across the city as per the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulations of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the committees were formed in all the 15 zones, with officials from Chennai Corporation, police department and street vendors who were elected through elections. Executive engineers of concerned zones were appointed as chairpersons of the committees.

However, some vendors approached the court citing the committees were not formed as per the rules, as the Act mandates that Commissioners of the concerned Municipal Corporations should be the chairman of the committees.

The important function of these panels is to identify and approve vending and non-vending zones in the city. New street vendors should get approval from the committees to start operating in the area.

Presently, the civic body has given identity cards as per the Act to more than 23,000 street vendors, who will only be allowed for vending. It recently commenced fresh enumeration of street vendors who are left out during the earlier enumeration, with the officials expecting more than 1 lakh street vendors in the city.

“We have already identified vending zones and non-vending zones based on the present number of vendors. Once the new enumeration is completed, more vending zones will be allowed,” the official said.

An official said more zones would be allowed once the new enumeration was completed