NEW DELHI: Hawkers encroaching streets is nothing new in Delhi. Now, in a first among Delhi civic bodies, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is set to form a Town Vending Committee (TVC) to identify sites and spaces for vending and hawking in Lutyens’ Zone.
“After the Council meeting in the first week, the way for setting up the TVC will be cleared. We are hoping that the proposal will get clearance.
“Soon after, we will publish advertisements in the media regarding the development,” said a highly placed NDMC official in the know of the project told The Sunday Standard.
Delhi has about 4.5 lakh street vendors, as per the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
In January 2016, the Delhi High Court had summoned the Delhi Chief Secretary to warn the government over its lax attitude towards formalising a clear policy for street vendors in the city.
The same month the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government notified the amended rules and schemes for implementation of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
The setting up of town vending committees is mandatory under the Act. Guided by the terms of the Act passed by Parliament in May 2014, the NDMC has decided to constitute a 30-member TVC including one member each from the health department, the PWD, the police and the traffic police, two from the revenue department, and six nominated members.
The Committee will also have 12 members who are street vendors along with one member from market traders association and three NGO representatives and one RWA member. But the members will be elected only after the civic body conducts a formal survey of vendors.
The Committee will be looking into various aspects of vending such earmarking no-vending zones, fixing hawking timings and also protecting the rights and dignity of street sellers.