To ensure that no private individual extorts money from vegetable vendors and only the tehbazari staff of the municipal corporation (MC) recover the monthly tehbazari fees of ₹1,000 from vendors, MC joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh inspected vegetable market in Rajguru Nagar near Lodhi Club in Ludhiana on Tuesday evening. The inspection was conducted on the directions of MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi.
During the inspection, Singh directed the tehbazari branch officials to make a list of vendors in the vegetable market and recover fees from the vendors in exchange for receipts. Singh said the inspection was conducted after MLA Gurpreet Gogi raised the issue and the civic body had also received complaints of extortion by “mandi mafia” from vendors at the vegetable market.
During the inspection, the civic body staffers made a list of 129 street vendors who had installed their vends in the market. The civic body staff has been directed to recover monthly tehbazari fees from the vendors and issue receipts in exchange. This practice should be carried out every month and no private person should be allowed to collect any fees from the vendors.
The MLA said no private person was seen collecting fees from the vendors on Tuesday evening but the civic body is investigating the complaints received by the department and action will be taken against the civic body officials if any anomalies are found on their part.
{{/usCountry}}The MLA said no private person was seen collecting fees from the vendors on Tuesday evening but the civic body is investigating the complaints received by the department and action will be taken against the civic body officials if any anomalies are found on their part.
{{/usCountry}}After MLA Gogi’s intervention, Sarabha Nagar police also lodged an FIR against five persons for extorting money from the street vendors in the market during December last year.
MLA Gurpreet Gog said no private person would be allowed to extort money from the vendors. Strict directions have also been issued to the civic body officials that they should keep a vigil in the area and only the civic body should recover the lawful tehbazari fees from the vendors.