Months after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) embarked on an ambitious effort to regulate hawkers and demarcate vending spaces, not a single red zone that bans street vending activity has been created.
The officials of the Urban Community Development (UCD) have undertaken the exhaustive exercise in which the commercial streets of the city would be categorised under vending zone, partial vending and non-vending zones.
Though the officials could demarcate 40 zones and place them under vending and partial vending zone, they are yet to declare any busy traffic junction as a ‘non-vending’ zone apparently due to local political reasons.
“We are only focusing on areas that can be categorised under vending and partial vending zones for now. We want to gain the trust of the vendors and assure them that we do not intend to threaten their livelihood,” said a senior official of the UCD.
Tough job
“Declaring a highly commercial street as a red zone is very tough as the local leaders and vendors will turn against us. We might even have to stop the project. In the coming days, we plan to engage with the vendors in the busy areas and convince them so that we can demarcate them as non-vending zones,” he sought to explain, pleading anonymity
The officials are yet to survey the “sensitive zones” which includes SR Nagar, Abids, Sultan Bazaar and parts of old city where they expect to face resistance. Through the recently formed ‘Town Vending Committee members’ comprising of government officials, street vendors, civil society organisation and community groups, the authorities plan to speed up the process in a few weeks.
Till date, the officials could survey more than 20,000 vendors across the city and had issued 10,478 ID cards.
Under self employment programme, 2,831 bank accounts of vendors have also been opened. As per the 2011 census, the twin cities has an estimated 1.2 lakh street vendors but the officials believe that in reality, the number will not cross 40,000.
The erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad had undertaken a similar exercise more than a decade ago after which the commercial streets were divided in to three zones.
While vendors could not conduct business in the red zone, they could operate in the amber zone only on specific days and time.
The hawkers were allowed in the green zone without any restrictions.
