E-Paper
Implementation of the Street Vendors Act: Seven years on, GMADA allocates four sites for vending zones
The Street Vendors Act is aimed at registering and rehabilitating street vendors and safeguarding them against exploitation at the hands of enforcement officers and calls for proper allocation of urban streets and spaces
Paving way for the implementation of the Street Vendors Act in the city seven years after the launch of the project, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has allocated four of the eight proposed sites for the vendors’ relocation.
The Act is aimed at registering and rehabilitating street vendors and safeguarding them against exploitation at the hands of enforcement officers and calls for proper allocation of urban streets and spaces.
Giving out details, Punjab housing and urban development (H&UD) minister Aman Arora said the move would not only facilitate street vendors in attracting customers at a common market place, but also solve the traffic problem in the city. He said the sites were handed over to the municipal corporation (MC) free of cost for developing vending zones.
Arora said the four sites include 3,341.59 sq yards in Sector 56, 2,516.88 sq.yards and 1,873.14 sq yards in Sector-77 as well as 2,588.24 sq yards in Sector 78. “The sites have been chosen while keeping in mind the easy access to the connecting roads,” Arora added.
The minister said the civic body has been asked to move vendors in a way that those involved in similar nature of work are allocated a single pocket, adding that the market belts would connect the wheels of vendors and consumers for mutual benefit.
The ownership of sites, even after handing over to the MC shall continue to remain with GMADA, Arora said, before adding that GMADA could take back the possession of these allocated sites if the civic body was to shift the street vendors in the future. “In such a case, the cost involved in shifting of the vending sites shall be borne by the MC,” he added.
A private firm hired by the civic body to carry out the survey had initially shortlisted 2,295 vendors, but the MC House found gaps in the survey and ordered it anew. Later in 2017, the civic body concluded that there were 993 moving and stationary vendors, a number that has since multiplied manifold.
In January last year, the MC decided to implement the Act starting from Phase 7 — where as many as 139 vendors are registered. The municipal commissioner had even asked the agency that conducted the survey to mark vending space in the parking areas, but the plan had fallen flat following objections by the market welfare association and area councillor.
Thereon, the civic body issued identity cards to 200 of the 993 vendors, but they were never given designated spaces to carry out their trade.
Box
Where are the vendors headed?
Approved sites Area
Chandigarh-Mohali border Sector 56 3,341 sq yards
Near the waterworks in Sector 77 2,516 sq yards
Near Akal Ashram Colony in Sector 77 1,873 sq yards
Near the fire station in Sector 78 2,588 sq yards
