EDMC licences for street food vendors soon

New Delhi, Dec. 7: The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) will introduce a policy of granting health trade licences to street food vendors and it has got anticipatory approval, Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said on Tuesday. He claimed that EDMC was the “first local body” to introduce such a policy.

The mayor said that zonal town vending authorities have surveyed and selected street vendors. They will allot sites to the vendors only after that health trade licence is issued, he said.

Aggarwal said that he has “given anticipatory approval” to this policy and it will be brought in the Standing Committee later and subsequently in the EDMC House.

For issuance of health trade licences to the street-food vendors some terms and conditions have been laid down by the corporation, the civic body said in a statement on Tuesday.

Aggrawal said license will be issued only to one of the family members and street food vending will be allowed on handdriven carts or other means as approved by the zone vending committee.

He said street-food vending “should not cause a nuisance” by odour, litter or noise, and obstruction to the traffic flow and pedestrian movement.

Operational hours will be from 8 am to 10 pm, the mayor said, adding the licensees will mandatorily undergo training under the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) or Skill Development Programme or both.

EDMC Commissioner Vikas Anand said singleuse plastic and thermocol items cannot be used for serving. Only biodegradable disposable serving

◗ THE EDMC mayor said that he has ‘given anticipatory approval’ to this policy health trade licenses to the street-food vendors. some terms and conditions have been laid down by the corporation, the civic body said in a statement on Tuesday.

items have to be used to serve food, he said.

Licensees and other food handlers involved in street-food vending would have to be vaccinated against Covid, authorities said.

Anand said licensees and other food handlers, suffering from infectious disease “shall not be permitted to work”. Proper arrangements for the collection of waste material has to be made by the licensees under the waste management rules, he said.

The commissioner said that with this initiative, street vendors will be brought under the license network and the corporation will “definitely get some revenue as well”.