Street vendors owe Chandigarh MC ₹75 crore, get 2-month ultimatum to pay up

Failure to clear the dues will lead to strict action, including licence cancellation, as was decided in the Chandigarh town vending committee meeting.

With 7,308 registered street vendors owing a whopping ₹75 crore as a fee to the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), the town vending committee on Monday decided to give a two-month ultimatum to the defaulters to clear their dues.

Chandigarh has 10,903 registered street vendors in all, out of which only 3,595 are paying up their dues on a regular basis. (HT File)

The city has 10,903 registered street vendors in all, out of which only 3,595 are paying up their dues on a regular basis. The data was shared by the MC during the town vending committee meeting on Saturday. It was chaired by municipal commissioner-cum-deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh. The meeting, held after 16 months, lasted for over four hours.

MC officials present at the meeting said, “The MC has taken a serious note of the 7,308 vendors who have not deposited the licence fee, amounting to ₹75 crore. These vendors have now been given a two-month window to clear their dues. At least 2,352 vendors have not paid their fee even once. Only the names of vendors with no outstanding dues will be included in the draw of lots for site allocation. Strict action, including cancellation of the licence, will be taken against defaulters.”

The officials added that while there was a suggestion to waive off the fines for those unable to pay but any such decision would require an amendment to the Act, and the decision will be taken only after due consideration.

Strict action against subletting vends

The committee also decided to take strict action against those vendors who have further sublet their vends. “The enforcement wing has been directed to keep a strict vigil on such vendors and scrap their licence,” the officials said.

“Various suggestions were given in the meeting to ensure that our city becomes encroachment-free. Chandigarh Resident’s Association Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) offered to provide a marshal (retired government officer or retired policemen) in each sector, who can help the enforcement wing to identify defaulters and take action against them. The idea was applauded and we will provide all necessary help”, said Anish Garg, a member of CRAWFED and town vending committee.

The issue of vendors had also come up in the MC House meeting last month and councillors, cutting across party lines, had spoken about the rapid increase in unregistered vendors and authorities’ apathy towards encroachments across the city. BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi had criticised the MC officers, accusing them of transforming the civic body into a “den of corruption” and deliberately not tackling encroachments in the city. “The sad part is that vendors who are paying the fee regularly are suffering while illegal vendors are proliferating in markets across the entire city due to the rampant corruption in the enforcement department,” he alleged. AAP councillor Damanpreet Singh had alleged, “The members of town vending committee 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.”