Three shopping complexes being constructed by the Corporation for hawkers in T. Nagar, Ayanavaram and Royapuram are nearing completion and will be inaugurated soon by Deputy Chief Minister M. K. Stalin.
According to Mayor M. Subramanian, the complexes would be inaugurated in the first week of next month.
The shopping complex in Pondy Bazaar, T. Nagar, would locate 692 hawkers and shop-keepers. The Rs.4.3-crore facility would have 10,758 sq ft of space and three lifts.
The complex on Palavoyal Street, Royapuram, is being constructed at a cost of Rs.1.32 crore. It has 332 shops. The third facility, on Monegar Chowltry Road, Royapuram, has 133 shops and is being constructed at a cost of Rs.27 lakh.
V. Maheswaran, executive committee member of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, welcoming the move of the Chennai Corporation, said the hawkers who had filed cases were only being provided shops in these three complexes. Not everyone can do that, he added.
The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, which says that they must be provided with ID cards, licences, shops and loans, must be implemented, he said. In Bhubaneshwar and Hyderabad, such vendors have been provided shops. But, Tamil Nadu is yet to implement the policy, he added.
Published - July 24, 2010 02:15 am IST
