Finally, justice for street vendors

It’s no insignificant achievement for one crore Indian street vendors that their existence and social necessity is at last appreciated. Having struggled for decades for a small piece of land to hawk on, they will now occupy 40% of the statutory Town Vending Committee (TVC) to be set up under the central law.

The Centre has circulated among all state governments the Model Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2009 for its adoption. So far unorganised, this enactment will organise them and give them their say in framing policies for a large population that caters to the basic needs of a majority of our 1.20-billion population.

Once they have 40% representation in TVC, the police excesses and highhandedness by civic authorities will become a thing of the past. As of now, the police and civic inspectors nibble away a big chunk of their earnings.

The right to vend is a part of the right to life and the right cannot be fulfilled unless there’s reasonable dignity in it. According to one study, Mumbai has the largest number of street vendors, numbering around 2.50 lakh. Delhi has around two lakh, Kolkata over 1.50 lakh and Ahmedabad around 1 lakh street vendors. Women constitute a large number of street vendors in almost every city. Some studies estimate that street vendors constitute approximately 2% of the population of a metropolis.

A survey by TISS-YUVA on street vendors in Mumbai found that only 5,653 street vendors, out of the 102,401 covered, had licenses. Though there are provisions in the law for granting licenses, most street vendors in Bangalore are denied this. It is also alleged that Mumbai vendors shell out $20 million in bribes for getting licenses, their renewal and for operating without permits.

The denial of right to vend surely benefits a section of the government that thrives on bribes. It’s true not only for Mumbai, but for all the states and, of course, the country that hasn’t improved its position among the less corrupt countries.