Tamil Nadu ranks 13th in the Support for Urban Street Vendors Programme implemented under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Based on the latest Systematic Progressive Analytical Real Time Ranking (SPARK), the State is ranked after Kerala, Punjab and Odisha, which occupy the 10th, 11th and 12th positions, respectively. The first three rankings were secured by Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh. The ranking reveals that the State has achieved 71.68% of the target.
It has scored the lowest in three parameters: 1.52% in distributing identity cards to all street vendors, 0% in expenditure made out of the target 5% and 0.16% in training and skill development while the scheme mandates a 5% in this too.
However, in areas such as notification of rules and schemes, conducting street vendor survey, preparing street vending plans and projects and proposals for infrastructure development the State has achieved the desired targets.
Officials from the Municipal Administration, which is currently implementing the Street Vendors programme and the Shelter for Urban Homeless component, said the street vendors in all corporations will soon get their identity cards and that the process is ongoing to set up street vending committees.
Constant harassment
“We have been waiting for these identity cards for very long now,” said R. Sivamurthy, a fruit vendor in Koyambedu.
He said that the local authorities had visited their area last year, clicked their individual photographs as part of the survey, but never returned. “What is the point of doing all this, if we are only going to be harassed and evicted,” he asked.
Ramkumar, a reed basket seller in Chetpet, said his wares get removed at least three times a month because he doesn’t have the required permission.
“I hardly make around ₹2,000 a month by selling these items and look after my two children. But this constant threat of eviction causes us a lot of stress. And this is the only job we know. We really need help,” he said.
Activists slammed the State for violating the basic tenets of the Street Vendors Act, 2014, which protects the rights and livelihoods of street vendors and mandates that they be assisted to carry out their activities without harassment from any quarter.
“These vendors belong to the marginalised communities, their services must be acknowledged and not harassed,” said R. Geetha, adviser to the Unorganised Workers Federation.
