The city Corporation’s plan to set up vending zones in the city as part of rehabilitating street vendors and clearing up footpaths is far from taking off, more than four years since it began. After the distribution of identity cards to a few of them in May last, nothing much has happened on this front.
A survey of street vendors in the city as part of rehabilitating them under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) programme began in 2015.
Last year, identity cards were provided to 550 of the 1,884 street vendors who were identified in the first survey.
The rest have not been provided cards as they have not submitted the police verification and other relevant documents.
Second list
“Now, we are trying to follow up each of the cases individually, as no one should be left out. The second list consisting of 1,599 vendors has already been published. But it has to be cleared in the town vending committee and the corporation council, which will now happen only after the elections,” says an official in the NULM wing.
10 zones
It was earlier decided to have 10 vending zones, out of which specific areas for two were identified near Medical College and the Napier Museum. Vending zones are also planned in some areas coming under the core area in the Smart City.
“Structural maps have been prepared for the vending zones. In the Medical College area, a lot of space will be cleared up when the multi-level parking space comes up. This can be utilised as a vending zone. The detailed project report is yet to be prepared. The individual shops in each zone can be given out in shifts too, as many might be doing business just for a few hours every day,” says S.S. Sindhu, Welfare standing committee chairperson of the city Corporation.
The delay works both to the advantage as well as disadvantage of the street vendors.
Though most of them are currently located in areas of their preference, where there are chances of getting more business, the possibility of eviction hangs over them constantly.
“It is good to have a designated area where the vendors are sure that they will never be evicted from. But, if it is in some corner of the city which is not frequented by people, it will prove to be a disaster for the vendors. Some years ago, a group of vendors from the East Fort area were shifted to an area inside the Fort. It proved to be an unsuccessful move, as they couldn’t get any business at all,” says Michael, general secretary of the Street Vendors’ Union, affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress.
