CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has sought preliminary reports from the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Greater Chennai Police (GCP) and the Environment, Climate Change and Forests department to work out a mechanism to regulate hawking on Marina Beach.
The direction was issued by a special division bench comprising justices R Suresh Kumar and AD Jagadish Chandira — dealing with petitions relating to street vending — while hearing a petition on the issue of allotment of petty shops on Marina Beach.
The GCC commissioner shall look into the matter as to how the street vending business on the beach is handled as of now, what is the system adopted and the scheme to streamline vending business. The Tamil Nadu government, represented by the secretary to Environment, Forests and Climate Change department, shall have a consultative meeting with the officials, along with GCC and GCP commissioners, prepare a report on addressing the problem, and file it in court, the bench said.
It also directed the GCC commissioner to file a status report about streamlining traffic on the Kamarajar Salai and the Beach Road. The bench suo motu impleaded the GCP commissioner, and posted the petitions for further hearing to October 15.
The directions were issued on the petitions by S Devi of Chepauk, seeking a direction to the GCC commissioner to allot a shop on the beach and levelling allegations that a few persons are discriminating against certain vendors.
Stating that such pleas are being filed often, the bench said the issue has to be given a quietus by putting in place a regulatory mechanism. The court noted that the government’s scheme to distribute uniform-shaped shops to vendors did not take shape due to objections by vendors on the size.