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Chandigarh MC refuses to renew permits of defaulting registered vendors
More than one third of the 9,300 registered vendors have defaulted on paying the licence fee on a regular basis.
The municipal corporation (MC) has refused to renew the licence of registered vendors, who have not paid their monthly vending fee for six months.
Vending fee varies between ₹500 and ₹2,000 per month depending upon the allocated vending area.
More than one third of the 9,300 registered vendors have defaulted on paying the licence fee on a regular basis.
The list of 3,487 defaulters, of which 3,020 are stationary vendors and 467 mobile vendors, was tabled during the town vending committee held last month. Sources said renewal of nearly 500 vendors had been declined so far.
One of the registered vendors, Ram Tirath, who has not submitted fee for 18 months, said MC had refused to renew his licence despite his offer to clear the dues. “I had a genuine reason behind delay, as I had to shift to my village in Uttar Pradesh to tackle a family problem,” he said.
Another vendor Ram Kumar narrated a similar concern, saying MC’s decision was unfair. “They should not put a blanket ban on those failing to pay licence fee for six months. There should be a provision to renew it after payment of dues, along with some mild penalty and interest. MC’s decision will render many people jobless,” he said.
When contacted, a senior MC official not wishing to be quoted, said under the MC street vending bylaws, it was mandatory for registered vendors to pay monthly vending fee on time. Failure to do so for six months in a row invites registration cancellation, a rule that was passed in the General House and later notified by the UT administration.
He said once the registration was cancelled, MC had no power to restore it. In that case, a vendor may file an appeal before the grievance committee headed by a district sessions judge.
