Chandigarh MC to cancel licence of street vendors not paying fee regularly

The action came after BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi once again raised the issue of mushrooming unregistered vendors and authorities’ blind eye to encroachments across Chandigarh

With only 3,596 out of the total 11,000 registered street vendors paying regular fees to the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), authorities have decided to cancel licence of the defaulting vendors.

AAP councillor Damanpreet Singh alleged, “The members of TVC are party to the corruption. After accepting bribes, they are letting illegal vendors thrive across the city. New committee should be formed or vigilance inquiry should be conducted to make Chandigarh encroachment free.” (HT Photo)

The action came after BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi once again raised the issue of mushrooming unregistered vendors and authorities’ blind eye to encroachments across the city. “After the last House meeting, the enforcement wing conducted several anti-encroachment drives but the sad part is that vendors who are paying regular fees are suffering, while illegal vendors are proliferating in markets across the entire city due to the rampant corruption in the enforcement department that does not remove them,” he said during the monthly House meeting on Thursday.

“Also, the town vending committee (TVC) of MC, which is actually a committee, has taken many wrong decisions, which needs a proper investigation and reconsideration, including those of converting licences of non-essential service providers into essential service providers; allotment of sites; survey of vendors and others. A fresh committee should be formed,” Joshi added.

Meanwhile, AAP councillor Damanpreet Singh alleged, “The members of TVC are party to the corruption. After accepting bribes, they are letting illegal vendors thrive across the city. New committee should be formed or vigilance inquiry should be conducted to make Chandigarh encroachment free.”

Municipal commissioner-cum-deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh, who is chairman of the TVC, said, “Due to some reasons, no meeting of the committee has been held in the past 16 months. Now, a meeting is scheduled on October 7. We will take up all these matters in the meeting and will ensure that licences of defaulter registered vendors are cancelled. A fresh survey is proposed and strict action will be taken against illegal vendors who dot the City Beautiful.”