Kurla, Ghatkopar lead illegal hawker hotspots

Mumbai's suburban wards are hotspots for illegal hawkers, with 13,724 targeted in February. A crackdown aims to regulate street vending and clear footpaths.

MUMBAI: The city’s suburban wards have emerged as the biggest hotspots for illegal hawkers according to the January and February data in the BMC ward-wise encroachment removal drive. The data shows that areas such as L ward in Kurla, N ward in Ghatkopar, R/C in Dahisar, K West in Andheri-Juhu and T ward in Bhandup consistently recorded the highest number of unauthorised hawkers.

Suburban wards continue to bear the highest burden of illegal hawkers largely due to dense residential pockets, busy railway stations, market areas and expanding commercial activity. ((Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times/ Representational))

According to the ward-wise encroachment removal and redemption collection reports, 13,724 illegal hawkers were acted against in February, while 11,764 hawkers were targeted in January, indicating a sharp and sustained crackdown across the city. A comparison of the two months shows a clear trend—suburban wards dominated the list of illegal hawker concentration while most island city wards recorded relatively moderate numbers.

Suburban wards continue to bear the highest burden of illegal hawkers largely due to dense residential pockets, busy railway stations, market areas and expanding commercial activity.

“Areas in the western and eastern suburbs attract large numbers of informal vendors due to higher pedestrian movement and transport connectivity, leading to recurring encroachment challenges,” said a civic official from the BMC’s encroachment removal department.

The official said the ward-wise monitoring helped identify hawker hotspots and allowed targeted enforcement drives to ensure smoother pedestrian movement and better regulation of street vending. The data indicates that future crackdowns are likely to focus more on suburban wards where illegal hawker concentration remains consistently high.

The BMC’s ongoing encroachment removal campaign is aimed at maintaining clear footpaths, reducing congestion and enforcing hawker regulations across Mumbai.

Last week, the Bombay high court acknowledged that around 99,000 eligible hawkers identified in the survey could be permitted to operate in Mumbai under the Street Vendors Act framework. The court ordered inspection and scrutiny of all stalls on roads and footpaths to ensure that they did not obstruct pedestrians or vehicles.

The court also stressed that crowded footpaths and blocked roads were affecting daily life, pedestrians, and emergency services, and regulation was necessary.

Additionally, it cleared the Town Vending Committee (TVC) election process and directed that the results of the election be declared, which is key to regulating the 99,000 hawkers. It also made it clear that illegal or ineligible hawkers should face action under the law, including steps against foreign nationals or undocumented individuals if found.

Shashank Rao, president of Mumbai Hawkers’ Union, said that once the town vending committee was constituted, the BMC needed to give licenses to all 99,000 hawkers, legalise them and allot pitches.

“Once that process is completed, the BMC must do a resurvey, as the survey has not been held since the last 10 years,” he said. “The Street Vendors Act of 2014 says that a survey should be held every five years and it should be 2.5 percent of the total hawker population. Rao said that existing license holders could have passed away in the last 10 years and new street vendors could have come in post-pandemic, thus a resurvey was essential.