The High Court had earlier directed the civic body to check illegal hawkers and street food vendors who prepare and sell snacks such as vada-pav, Chinese fast-food.
Maharashtra State Government will be cracking down on hawkers making food on the streets, lanes and pavements under the limits of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
Minister of State for Home and Urban Development Ranjit Patil said the government has filed an affidavit in this regard after the Mumbai High Court (Bombay High Court) issued directives in this connection.
The High Court had earlier directed the civic body to check illegal hawkers and street food vendors who prepare and sell snacks such as vada-pav, Chinese fast-food.
The state government has been coming down on hawkers on the streets for some time now. While the Mumbai High Court banned cooking on streets in October, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been pulling up hawkers actively since the beginning of the year. The BMC has earlier claimed that it had been taking regular action against illegal hawkers.
Patil has also said that the government will bring out its new Hawkers' policy next year.
According to the new hawkers' policy, the BMC will have to demarcate special zones for hawkers to operate in and will monitor and regulate hawkers.
The move has drawn much flak from residents of different suburbs in Mumbai who say that the hawkers policy will cause inconvenience and will only serve to benefit certain landlords and building owners.
The BMC is in progress new hawking zones in line with the Supreme Court guidelines. It said stalls of illegal hawkers were being removed.
There are likely to be around three lakh hawkers in Mumbai, based on a formula that takes the city's population into consideration, according to the National Hawking Policy. While around 1.3 lakh hawkers have already enrolled to get licenses, around 40,000 have been rejected. The BMC is currently in the process of giving licenses to the remaining hawkers.
However, vendors selling preserved food items will be given protection by the government.
The court has also granted protection to street vendors who are running their business since May 1, 2014, and are covered under the definition of "street vendor" under Street Vendors Act.
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