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BMC to register only penalized vendors, besides licensed hawkers

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While the BMC carries out a survey to ascertain the number of hawkers in the city, several instances of persons posing illegally as vendors to get registered has become a headache for the civic authorities.
To tackle the menace, BMC has decided to register only those vendors, who were fined by the civic body or have legal matters pending before courts.

The supreme court had, on September 9, 2013, passed an order regarding the implementation of national hawkers' policy of 2009. Subsequently, BMC has been carrying out the survey since July 18. However, during the survey, it has been observed that scores of fly-by-night operators are occupying public places, posing as hawkers waiting to be registered.

"When the SC passed the order, it had clearly said that existing hawkers should be registered. So, we are going to consider only those people who were doing business by the said date. We are just circulating forms for now. It is not the final registration," additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani said.

In order to establish genuine hawkers, the BMC will check its records pertaining to penalty inflicted on vendors by the said date. "We already have 15,000 licensed vendors. So, that case is already clear for us.

Plus, we have records of goods seized and penalty inflicted on vendors. It is unlikely that there is a non-licensed hawker against whom action has not been taken. Add to this, there are court cases pending. So, we will refer to those details and verify it with the applications received so far to eliminate bogus applicants," Adtani added.

The officer further explained the method BMC will use to finalize the list of genuine vendors. "We are going to allow only one license per family. To ensure the cap is followed, we will seek ration and AADHAR cards details. That way, the exact number will be established," he added.

As on July 24, when the survey of hawkers doing daily vending ended, the BMC had distributed roughly 1.25 lakh forms. The survey of vendors at weekly markets will be completed on July 28.

According to the Street Vendors' (protection of livelihood and regulation of street vending) Act, 2014, 2.5% of the city's population will be eligible to be vendors. Going by the same, there is a fear among citizens that the number of hawkers will swell up to 3 lakh and they will occupy every nook and corner of city's roads/public places.

"The figure will escalate when BMC actually starts implementing the street vendors' act, which says 2.5% of the city's populace is eligible for vending. "The court order has restricted the vendors' registration to September 9, 2013. While, according to the act, all the hawkers will have to be registered. But new hawkers will be registered in the second phase of survey, not now," the officer added.

The BMC has said it is counting dabbawalahs in the survey as they don't occupy space.

Civic activists feel that the densely-populated city of Mumbai needs city-specific hawkers' policy to curb the likely menace of public space crunch. "It is the in the interest of the city to privatize BMC's license department which has remained under the thumb of MLAs and coporators for quite long and failed to regulate hawking," remarked Anil Joseph, chairman of Bandra's Perry Road Residents' Association.

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