Vending certificates in S Delhi: Councillors want ceremony, officials disagree

The point of contention is the civic body’s insistence on sending the COVs via post to the registered address, as mandated by the town vending committee rules, but many councillors insist on holding ceremonies to hand them out

After years of delay, administrative hurdles and prolonged survey processes since the enactment of Street Vending Act 2014, the municipal corporations in Delhi have started issuing certificates of vending (COV) to street vendors last week, but the process has led to friction in South MCD between the councillors the executive wing.

Over 71,000 vendors have been identified in phase 1 of the survey that was completed on September 30 this year, but the number is expected to rise as the Delhi government has extended the survey by two months, till December 7. (PTI)

The point of contention is the civic body’s insistence on sending the COVs via post to the registered address, as mandated by the town vending committee rules, but many councillors insist on holding ceremonies to hand them out. According to sources, North and East MCDs have allowed councillors to distribute COVs in public ceremonies.

Over 71,000 vendors have been identified in phase 1 of the survey that was completed on September 30 this year, but the number is expected to rise as the Delhi government has extended the survey by two months, till December 7.

Keeping the upcoming municipal elections in sight, the senior South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) functionaries are pushing the executive wing to hold ceremonies to gain political mileage but the deputy commissioners have stated that as per regulations, the COVs can only be mailed to postal addresses of the vendors, noting that the process also helps in verification of the address.

SDMC standing committee chairman Col (retd) BK Oberoi said that the certificates are being mailed through postal services and the deputy commissioner (west) has informed that this is as per orders of the town vending committee. “In many cases, the councillors and chairpersons in the East and North corporation are handing over the certificates so we are being deprived of the benefits at the councillors’ level. We have requested that the remaining certificates be issued through the councillors so that they can also identify the vendor of the area,” he said.

EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said that vending certificates are being distributed by the chairmen at zonal level. “We have not faced any problem like SDMC,” he added.

The chairman also suggested issuing two copies of the certificate -- the original to be sent by post and the copy to be handed over by the councillor.

Sonal Swaroop, the deputy commissioner (south zone), said that the town vending scheme mentions that the COVs have to be sent to the vendor through a registered post to the address mentioned in the Aadhaar card.

Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti said that the civic body is simply following rules. “I am unaware of the practice in North and East MCDs,” he said.

Leader of the house Inderjeet Sehrawat said that councillors, being political representatives, should be able to reap the benefits. “It is all right that the certificate is being sent through post but a copy should be sent to the councillor to distribute at the ward level,” he added.

Poonam Bhati, a standing committee member and councillor from Tughlaqabad extension, also supported the call for issuing two copies.

QR code trouble

Meanwhile, Arbind Singh, who heads NASVI, said that the politicians should attempt to seek only “genuine credit” and pointed out that the vendors are still facing a lot of hurdles.

“The QR code on the vending certificate should lead to the location of vending as a detailed GIS mapping survey has been carried out but it is currently indicating the residential address of the street vendors. Delhi administration has taken seven long years to start issuing vending certificates after the street vending Act was passed in 2014 and still the process remains incomplete. We have decided to carry out protests on November 24 to highlight the problems being faced by street vendors in Delhi,” said Singh.

The Delhi government had ordered the town vending committees to carry out a survey to identify all street vendors in the Capital in 2015, in line with the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The survey, which aims at identifying eligible street vendors and giving them a legitimate status, began in January this year and concluded on September 30. The town vending committee is headed by the zonal deputy commissioner and has street vendors as its members.

The North MCD has, so far, identified 5,912 vendors in City Sadar-Paharganj zone, 4,018 in Karol Bagh, 2,861 in Civil Lines zone, 5,334 in Keshav Puram zone, 5,080 in Rohini and 4,614 in Narela zone. Similarly, the South MCD has identified 8,140 street vendors in the Central zone, 7,789 in South zone, 4,350 in West zone and 3,672 in Najafgarh. The EDMC has found 10,039 vendors in Shahdara South zone and 9,604 in Shahdara North zone, said EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal.