Mumbai
If the list in its current form gets approved, there may soon be regular hawking zones coming up right in front of the residences of actor Rishi Kapoor and industrialist Anil Ambani in Pali hill.
Updated : Apr 08, 2015, 07:16 AM IST
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Bandra residents are irked by a proposed list of hawking zones, non-hawking zones and restricted hawking areas for the Bandra west area, drafted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
If the list in its current form gets approved, there may soon be regular hawking zones coming up right in front of the residences of actor Rishi Kapoor and industrialist Anil Ambani in Pali hill.
The list has a hawking zone on a five foot-wide footpath near the BMC reservoir at Pali Hill. Similarly, new hawking zones have been proposed for Manuel Gonsalves road, John Baptista road, 7th road, 31st road and 23rd road, apart from retaining certain hawking areas on Hill road, which is already crowded with hawkers.
Local corporator Asif Zakaria slammed the proposal, saying no application of mind has gone into making the list. "No footpath exists at the proposed Pali Hill spot at present. Are they going to construct a footpath there and then bring hawkers there?" he asked.
Zakaria added, "Roads where there was never any hawking have been proposed as hawking zones. We are going to strongly oppose this. The committee that has made the list doesn't understand the residents' concerns."
The BMC had recently undertaken the task of preparing the exhaustive list across all 24 civic wards of the city as per the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The list will have to get approved by the municipal commissioner, the town vending committee and the general body of the BMC. Selected hawkers will accordingly be given licenses and ID cards.
"We don't want any hawker from Navi Mumbai to hawk in Bandra. That will control the influx of hawkers to Bandra. Moreover, why weren't the locals consulted when the list was being prepared? Is that the reason why no hawking zones have also been listed as hawking zones to accommodate the extra hawkers from all across the city?" asked civic activist Shyama Kulkarni.
Deputy municipal commissioner BG Pawar (removal of encroachments) said, "As per the norms, we have framed committees, headed by the assistant municipal commissioner of every ward, to draft the list in consultation with the local police and the traffic police," Pawar said.
He added that even the chief engineer of BMC's roads and traffic department will go through the list and check if it adheres to the civic body's 'pedestrian first' policy, which deals with ensuring pedestrians' safety and comfort in the city.
"The report will be sent to the zonal DMCs who will consider citizens groups' views on the list before it gets finalised," Pawar said.
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