No illegal street vending in Kochi from December 1: Kerala HC

700 of 876 hawkers issued identity cards, in the process of tracing the rest, says corp
Street vendors selling clothes on a lane leading to Broadway. After Kochi corporation demarcates special zones for street vending, all registered vendors will be shifted to the allotted areas |   Albi
Street vendors selling clothes on a lane leading to Broadway. After Kochi corporation demarcates special zones for street vending, all registered vendors will be shifted to the allotted areas | Albi

KOCHI: The High Court has directed the Ernakulam district collector and the city police commissioner to ensure that no street vendor operates without obtaining a certificate from the Kochi corporation’s town planning committee from December 1.

Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar issued the order while considering a batch of petitions pertaining to street vending. The court held that those who have obtained certificates from the town vending committee should be permitted to carry on street vending.

The Kochi corporation informed the court that 700 of the 876 street vendors initially found eligible have been issued identity cards so far, and it is in the process of tracing the other 176 vendors. An additional 927 vendors have applied for identity cards, of whom 398 were identified to be eligible. The said list had been forwarded to the town vending committee for approval, the corporation submitted. A final decision on the matter is set to be taken in a meeting scheduled for November 19. 

The court has directed street vendors operating within the corporation limits without the requisite identity cards and certificates to apply to the town vending committee for the same. On receipt of such applications, the committee should pass appropriate orders in a month, it said.

Talking shop

  • According to a survey of trade unions, over 5,500 street vendors are operating in Ernakulam, of whom more than 3,000 are in Kochi corporation divisions.
  • Most of the street vendors under Kochi corporation are located on the stretch between the Town Hall in Ernakulam North and the Marine Drive area, including Broadway.
  • These places have been suggested as vending zones to the committee as more than 500 vendors operate their businesses there.
  • An additional 927 vendors have applied for identity cards, of whom 398 have been found to be eligible.

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