Licensing of street vendors may be delayed

Model code for bypoll delays vetting of applications, finalising of vending zones

The finalisation of the list of licensed street vendors of Kochi for issuing licence and earmarking the street vending zones may take some more time.

The civic authorities of Kochi have decided to give time for the street vendors, who are yet to apply for the licence, till December 5 to submit their applications. Earlier, the Town Vending Committee had cleared the applications of 1,989 persons and issued licences.

Incidentally, the Kerala High Court had last month asked the Kochi Corporation to permit only licensed vendors to carry out street vending within the limits of the corporation from December 1. The court asked also asked the local body to complete the issuance of the identity cards and certificates of vending before November 30. The court had also instructed the street vendors who had not obtained the licences to approach the Town Vending Committee. The local body shall decide on the applications within one month, the court had instructed.

The court had also directed that such applicants shall not be permitted to carry out street vending till they obtained the certificates from the committee.

According to a civic administrator, the process of vetting the applications and finalising the list and the identification of the vending zones got stuck in the model code of conduct that came into force following the announcement of the bypoll to the Gandhi Nagar division of the Kochi Corporation.

It may require some more time for the local body to implement the programme. The civic body is keen on implementing the programme by evolving a consensus among various stakeholders. The vendors need to be shifted to the zones identified for the purpose, he said.

Meanwhile, the draft list of vending zones identified by an agency engaged by the corporation is understood to have evoked a sharp response. There were objections regarding some of the zones, which were primarily identified. The draft list may have to be revised and placed before the committee and later before the corporation council for approval, an official said.