‘The city will become a jungle’: Delhi HC pulls up authorities over hawking plan

The court, while hearing a plea by the New Delhi Traders Association seeking removal of unauthorised hawking in the Connaught Place area, stressed on the need for proper implementation of the Street Vendors Act to have an organised activity of vending

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Monday observed that if anyone is allowed is allowed to come and hawk in the national capital, then the whole city will become a jungle.

The court was informed that drives have been carried out by the NDMC and police for removal of illegal encroachers and five FIRs have been registered. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)

“There has to be a plan. There has to be a survey by a committee, nothing of that has happened. The plan has not even been prepared. It cannot be that in the meantime the whole city is open. Anybody can walk in and start hawking and vending. The whole city will become a jungle… This cannot be permitted,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Amit Bansal remarked.

The court, while hearing a plea by the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) seeking removal of unauthorised hawking in the CP area, stressed on the need for proper implementation of the Street Vendors Act to have an organised activity of vending.

The court directed local authorities, including the municipal corporations, to initiate the process of preparing the statutory street vending plan under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act.

“The steps taken in this regard be placed before the court on the next date of hearing,” the court said.

The court also asked the authorities, including the Delhi government and the municipal bodies, to take help from the experts of Public Works Department, School of Planning and Architecture, IIT and other planning bodies to formulate a street vending plan which would set the specifications for density of vendors and norms for walkways in markets.

“You need to implement the Act properly. There is no street vending plan. The way the constitution of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) has been done is actually shocking. We are dealing with the NDMC area and without CP area, it does not have its character and meaning,” the bench said.

“We take the Act, the rules and the scheme are good, the problem is in the implementation. Our objective is to not take it adversely. We want all the wings of administration, whether the GNCTD or corporations, to implement the provisions of the Act, then to our mind, we will have a city where it will be an organised activity of vending,” said the court, adding that street vending is an age-old activity.

The court, on October 11, had directed the removal of illegal encroachers and vendors from the CP area and directed the authorities to ensure that the area remained clean.

The petitioner, represented through senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli, sought that the authorities be directed to ensure the areas are kept free from encroachments by illegal hawkers and vendors.

The court was informed by senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi Police, that drives have been carried out by the NDMC and police for removal of illegal encroachers and five FIRs have been registered. He said the court’s order was fully complied with by the authorities.

The NDMC counsel also said illegal hawkers and vendors were removed but the drive needs to be carried daily.

Regarding the Regal Cinema building, Ralli informed the court that earlier no action was taken against illegal hawkers sitting there and a removal drive was carried on November 6 after he informed the authorities that action has to be taken there also.

The court observed that it was conscious of the fact that vendors also have fundamental rights but pointed out that it is not absolute. The bench said its concern was that it has to see and balance it with the rights of other citizens.

“We want to ensure all wings of administration, be it MCD or Delhi government, shall implement the Act in its letter and spirit,” it said.