The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday restrained the Commissioner of Tiruchi Corporation from evicting street vendors from N.S.C. Bose Road in the city until the court disposes of a writ petition filed by one of their associations challenging the move.
Justice M. Venugopal granted the interim order on the petition filed by Tiruchi Managar Tharai Kadai Vyabarigal Sangam, affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), on the strength of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Arguing the case, senior counsel M. Ajmal Khan said it was the Supreme Court which had directed the Centre a decade ago to look into the grievances of thousands of street vendors and hawkers throughout the country and pass an appropriate legislation to regulate them.
Subsequently, the Centre formulated a National Policy for Small Vendors in Towns in 2004 and appointed a committee to suggest appropriate measures. The object of the policy was to recognise the rights of street vendors and provide authorised zones for their business.
In pursuance of the steps taken to recognise the rights of street vendors, Parliament enacted the Street Vendors Act this year. The legislation received the President’s assent on March 1, and came into force from May 1.
“Section 3 (3 ) of the Act categorically states that no street vendor shall be evicted or relocated till a survey as specified under sub-section (1) was completed and certificates of vending were issued to all the street vendors. Therefore, as on date, the Corporation has no right to evict street vendors,” the counsel said.
He also stated that the Act required establishment of Town Vending Committees, comprising street vendors, in every State for deciding the necessity for evicting or relocating the vendors. “But no such committees had been formed in Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Nevertheless, the Tiruchi Corporation had put up a placard on N.S.C. Bose Road asking the vendors to vacate the place before December 1 for carrying out renovation works. “The claim of renovation works is just a ploy to get the vendors evicted once for all,” Mr. Khan alleged.
