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Uncertainty looms large on lakhs of street vendors in the capital. The civic agencies and police have started evicting vendors following an NGT order while the Delhi government is yet to formulate a policy to implement last year's Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act. Under the Act, passed by Parliament in February 2014, each municipal corporation will have to form a vending committee to identify vending sites and register vendors. But the state government has to frame the rules guiding these committees. The vendors' association now wants the AAP government to initiate the process soon. In April, National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the municipal corporations to ensure that the main roads are not encroached upon by vendors. National Street Vendors Association of India (NASVI) claims that close to 2,000 vendors have been removed from several areas like Lajpat Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Vasant Kunj, RK Puram and Uttam Nagar in the past one month. "In Lajpat Nagar and Chandni Chowk, around 450 and 145 vendors have been displaced, respectively. Municipal officers and police are harassing us. They say they are implementing NGT orders. But they should first implement orders which have been issued by courts in our favour. When the government has not identified vending sites, how can they displace us?" said Arbind Singh, national coordinator, NASVI. The corporations claim that the town vending committees (TVCs) were set up last year. "But we are waiting for the government scheme to rehabilitate vendors. As for action against the vendors, we have not ordered it," said Subhash Arya, mayor of South Corporation. Government sources say work is going on to formulate the rehabilitation policy. The association, however, says the corporations will have to reconstitute the committees. "The rules for formation of TVCs were notified recently. The corporations have to reconstitute the committees as per the new rules. TVCs are supposed to identify genuine street vendors. But they have outsourced the work to an agency. For example, North Corporation is getting a pre-survey done by a private firm. How can they identify vendors?" said Singh. Municipal officials say the rehabilitation process can start only after street vendors have been identified. "The last census was done in 2007. At present, we don't know their exact number. TVC has to decide on the process to identify vendors," said an official of South Corporation. The vendors' association feels it's high time the government protects vendors' right to work without fear. "It seems no one is serious about the issue. No regulation means more chaos. We have been successful in using the law to give protection to street vendors. But in absence of any policy, vendors are harassed by the civic agencies. In the past one year, challans by civic agencies have increased manifold," said Singh.
Keywords
Street vendors, hawkers, Delhi, displacement, municipality, government, civic agencies, eviction, Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, Town Vending Committee, rehabilitation, rights
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