As per the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014, “the Town Vending Committee shall ensure that all existing street vendors, identified in the survey, are accommodated in the vending zones subject to a norm conforming to two-and-a-half per cent of the population of the ward or zone or town or city, as the case may be, in accordance with the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones.”
‘Impractical’But in the capital city, a separate vending zone might be an impractical idea and hence, the city Corporation is trying a few tweaks.
“Though the Act says so, it is not practical to find a separate zone for vending, one for lack of space and second, because it might affect their business. In most of the areas occupied by vendors currently, it is done without blocking pedestrian or vehicle traffic, and hence we can continue with those. In the few cases where they may have to be removed, we need to find alternative places, maybe attached to the new complexes built by the local body,” says Palayam Rajan, chairperson of the Corporation’s welfare standing committee.
