The Madras High Court Bench here on Wednesday stayed a notification issued by Tiruchi Corporation Commissioner on April 24 for electing six members, from among street vendors in the city, to the Town Vending Committee to be constituted in accordance with the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014.
A Division Bench of Justices M.V. Muralidaran and N. Seshasayee granted the interim stay on a public interest litigation petition filed by K. Palanisamy, secretary of Anaithu Tharai Kadai Vyaparigal Pathukappu Sangam, an association of street vendors, alleging that the corporation had failed to identify and issue identity cards to all street vendors in the city.
The petitioner’s counsel R. Karunanithi pointed out that the central law was enacted in 2014 to safeguard the interests of poor street vendors and the State Government too had framed the statutory rules under the enactment in 2015. One of the important aspects of the legislation was formation of Town Vending Committees with adequate representation to the street vendors. As per the law, at least 40% of the committee members should be street vendors.
Out of the representation for the vendors, at least one-third of them should be women and a reasonable representation should also be given to those belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minority communities and the physically challenged category.
Pointing out that the Returning Officer-cum-Assistant Commissioner of the Corporation himself had conceded in the election notification that only 2,206 street vendors had been identified in the city and photo identity cards had been issued to only 465 of them, the counsel claimed that the election was being conducted without finalising the list of vendors.
