Street vendors will now get spots for running business, safety from eviction

NEW DELHI: After four years of delay, the Delhi government has finally notified 28 town vending committees (TVCS) that will enable street vendors to do business from designated spots, saving them from evictions and alleged extortions, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Kejriwal said Delhi will become the first state to implement the Street Vending Act, 2014.

“A total 28 town vending committees have been set up, each having 30 members. At least 12 members have been elected from among street vendors and hawkers while the rest are officials who have been nominated,” he said.

“Because they do not have a legal status, whatever they do is termed illegal. That’s why they are harassed by every department, be it police or civic bodies. People extort money from them. Also, because vending was not streamlined till now, it used to lead to traffic snarls and pollution,” Kejriwal said.

The government said those who have been removed from vending spots over the years would be included in the survey. “With street vending being organised, no new person can come and occupy a spot randomly by bribing officials. For new vending spots, hawkers will have to apply to town vending committees,” the chief minister said.

According to government data, there are about 1.45 lakh authorised street vendors in Delhi but the list dates to 2007 and 2011 when surveys were conducted after the Thareja committee was constituted to review cases of people whose claims were rejected for non-compliance of standard proof.

Asked why it took four years to notify the committees, Kejriwal said, “We had prepared at least three proposals, some of which were even notified. But each time, a PIL was filed and the matter became subjudice. Now, the court somehow expressed satisfaction with our latest plan and so we finally went ahead with it.”

Urban development minister Satyendar Jain said he had on Monday asked the municipal corporations to start conducting surveys to identify vendors and vending spots through their respective town vending committees. “The surveys are expected to be completed within one to two months. The 28 TVCS will identify genuine vendors and spaces for vending zones,” he said.

Arbind Sagar of National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) said bringing order to street vending will take time. “This could be the first time in nearly a decade that a fresh survey to identify the total number of street vendors in Delhi will be done. But the task of the newly formed TVCS is only to conduct the surveys — identifying vending zones and genuine vendors. The TVCS will have to issue certificates of vending (COV) to identified vendors. Once this task is over, elections to these committees will have to be conducted again in six months,” he said.

Government officials said only vendors with certificates will be allowed to do business and that too at the exact spot mentioned in the document. “At a later stage, proper licences bearing the name of the owner, address and the place of vending will be issued,” an official said.

Kejriwal said the Delhi government is also considering setting up kiosks with garbage disposal facility and power connection.