After five years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is planning to survey street vendors in the city. This time, the BBMP will use geographical information system-based applications to identify the vendors and the areas.
A senior BBMP official said that to notify the vendors’ zone, the BBMP is coming up with the survey of street vendors. “The survey will be conducted at the zonal level by zonal commissioners. Before conducting the survey, we will hold meetings with street vendors’ associations, asking them to enrol their members for the survey,” the official added.
The BBMP said that the survey is being carried out to provide benefits for the street vendors’ community. “The survey will also help BBMP to pass on the benefits of the civic body to the street vendors and to issue ID cards,” he added.
The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which provides for vending zones within the city, also stipulates that a town vending committee, with over 40% representation of street vendors, be formed, which will decide on vending zones.
Vendors not happy
Meanwhile, street vendors are not happy about the creation of separate vendors’ zone by removing them from existing places. S. Babu, president of Bengaluru Urban District Street Vendors’ Federation, said: “It is illegal to create vending zones without discussing them with the town vending committees. The town vending committees, to be chaired by the Joint Commissioners of the zone, will have 10 street vendors elected as members (40% of the committee). These committees will demarcate vending and non-vending zones in the city and work for the welfare of the street vendors.”
“By creating vending zones, the BBMP is planning to evict us illegally. The BBMP has to discuss the survey and create a vendor zone with the town vending committees first,” he added.
