Lack of vending committees main hindrance in settling issue: Officials
NEW DELHI: It has been two years since Delhi government and civic agencies have been “working” on setting up Town Vending Committees (TVCS) for regulating street vendors, yet not a single such committee exists as of now.
“The task of a TVC is to identify vending, non-vending and restricted vending zones in Delhi. It is also supposed to do a survey to identify the number of authorised street vendors. Despite being the national Capital, Delhi has no such committee,” said Arbind Sagar, coordinator, National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI).
Tuesday’s anti-encroachment drive, during which nearly 300 vends were targeted across the city, could have been avoided had there been TVCS, experts working in the field said.
Irked by the sluggish progress, the Delhi High Court in September last year pulled up the government saying rights of street vendors are being “grossly affected”.
The court had asked the government to fast-track setting up vending committees.
The problem, vendors said, is more prominent in areas like Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar were the vendors are high in numbers. “On one hand, the HC has given rulings in our favour that no vendor will be evicted except for those on no-vending zones. Yet, these evictions are taking place. We cannot go to the court also as it will say we have already given an order in your favour. On the other hand, no law is being implemented for vendors,” said Mohammad Hayat, a street food vendor at Janpath.
Following the court’s remarks, the Delhi government in January, notified rules for formation of TVCS across the city, but not much has moved since.
Officials of the Delhi government’s urban development department, which is overseeing the project, blame civic agencies.
“Only the North Corporation has started a month-long drive to get street vendors registered. Other civic agencies are yet to follow suit,” said government official privy to the development.
According to government data, there are about 1.45 lakh authorised vendors in Delhi, but the list dates back 2007 and 2011 when surveys were conducted.