NEW DELHI: New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which manages Lutyens’ Delhi, is planning to increase the monthly rent it collects from registered street vendors in the area. The idea is to increase revenue and deter new vendors from setting shop there.
Lutyens’ Delhi has been selected to be developed as a Smart City, but street vendors encroaching upon footpaths and crowding markets is worrying the agency.
In 1989, on the directions of the Supreme Court, NDMC framed a scheme for allotment of space for squatters who were to be given ‘tehbazari’ permission. The court set up the Thareja Committee to identify eligible shopkeepers, and sites for squatting were set up and a rate for a 6x4 feet space was decided. Currently, the highest that a squatter pays is `792 per month for space in Connaught Place; the minimum amount is `395 for 900 registered vendors.
“The amount has not been revised for 30 years and is very minimal for posh markets in the NDMC zone. Increasing the rent might help reduce the number of street vendors in the area because many illegal vendors are related to the registered ones and start squatting nearby. We believe `20,000 per month should be the revised rates.
A final nod by the chairman is awaited,” Vijay Kumar Gautam, Director Enforcement and Traffic NDMC, told The Sunday Standard. But removing squatters from the area is no easy task as they are in connivance with the agencies. Also, politicians see them as a huge vote bank, and hence any discriminatory action against them fails to yield results.