Excluded street vendors to be given another chance

Corporation gives them six more months to get their names cleared

With several street vendors who have been conducting business for years getting excluded in a survey conducted by the city Corporation to identify vendors across the capital, the vending committee has decided to give six more months for those who missed out to raise objections and get their names included.

While the previous survey held in 2015 had identified 3,948 street vendors in the city, the latest survey held in July last year could identify only 2,442 vendors. According to officials of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), which handles applications for new street vendors, the fact that the survey was held at a time when COVID-19 restrictions were in place could have led to many vendors not being included.

“Many street vendors were not carrying out business during that time and they might have ended up not being captured in the survey. We have 1,500 fewer vendors in the current survey compared to 2015. At least a few could have stopped street vending and shifted to other businesses or jobs, but many more are continuing. From the previous list, only 600 have been included in the new list, while close to 2,000 are new vendors who have started business in the past five years. After the draft list was prepared, close to 300 old vendors have approached us for inclusion in the list,” said an official.

Sources also point to pressure from political parties for inclusion of vendors of their choice in the list, despite instructions from the administration to go by the books. However, vendors are being included only as per the current survey or if they were included in the previous one. The list has to be approved by the vending committee and later by the Corporation council.

Meanwhile, work has begun on the vending zone on the RKV Road near the Napier Museum. The existing vendors in the new area will be rehabilitated and new ones will also be accommodated. The Corporation will help some of the existing vendors to diversify their business as several vendors having the same business in one area might not be beneficial.