7 yrs since Street Vendors Act, several states yet to carry out vendor surveys, says Parliamentary panel

Several states have not carried out vendor surveys and formed town vending committees even after seven years of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, a parliamentary panel said in its report.

The Standing Committee on Urban Development, which presented its report in Lok Sabha on Friday, sought to know the reason for the delay and recommended taking up the issue at the highest level, according to an official press release.

The panel, headed by Jagdambika Pal, also recommended preventing eviction of street vendors without formation and consultation of town vending committees (TVC) in states.

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) must explore the possibility of revisiting the ceiling on the number of street vendors at 2.5 per cent of the population of the city, town, zone and ward, the committee observed.

"The committee considers the figure as grossly inadequate in thickly populated cities like Mumbai, Delhi and others," it said.

In its report, the committee observed that the ministry lacks any mechanism to monitor the conduct of TVC meetings and that it is directed to issue guidelines to states and Union territories with regard to the minimum number of meetings, advance intimation of schedule and uploading of minutes on the official website of urban local bodies among others.

"Even after seven years of enactment of the Act, several states have not carried out vendor surveys, formed town vending committees and notified vendors' zone/market which are essential for the implementation of the Act," the committee also observed.

The press release stated that in the report, the committee said vending zones should be developed in vacant spaces adjacent to parks and community centres in order to address the issue of location of such zones and markets far away from residential areas.

"With a view to avoid issuing multiple cards and vending certificates, the committee suggested to issue smart cards consisting of details of the ID cards, certificate of vending and any other details to the vendors," the report said.

It also said the MoHUA must take up the publication of street vendor charter by all the states and Union territories to ensure transparency.

"Social audits are crucial for successful implementation of any social sector scheme, the committee thus, recommends maintenance of database on conduct or otherwise of social audit by states/UTs under the provision of the Act," it also stated.

The committee recommended that MoHUA must encourage states to declare Natural Markets and also maintain a centralised database of the same, the report added.