Surveyed vendors barred from ‘A’ Ward following HC crackdown on hawkers

Mumbai's BMC, after a court order, will bar surveyed hawkers from 'A' ward roads, allowing only 200 licensed vendors on the CSMT-high court route.

MUMBAI: After the Bombay High Court’s crackdown on hawkers in Mumbai, the civic authorities said they will not allow surveyed vendors – unlicenced hawkers who have been included in an official survey and are considered ‘eligible vendors’ – to conduct business on roads in ‘A’ ward, in South Mumbai. This is part of a plan being worked out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has been pulled up by the court for its inability to tackle the proliferation of hawkers in the city.

Mumbai, India – Nov 06, 2024: Hawkers at CST, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Nov 06, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The reprimand came after the BMC said it had identified 20 locations across Mumbai to accommodate licenced and surveyed vendors. However, an inspection by two advocates and civic officials found that hawkers were still operating in various areas. Observing photographs of hawkers occupying various streets and bylanes, the judges hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the matter said it was abundantly clear that the BMC was unable to control the menace of unauthorised hawkers. The court then directed the BMC to devise a plan to clear the route from CSMT to the high court building of hawkers by November 12, the next hearing in the case. This would be an experimental plan, the court said. If it worked, the plan could be replicated in other parts of the city.

There are 2,808 vendors surveyed in ‘A’ ward alone. “We will allow surveyed hawkers to stay only if the Town Vending Committee (TVC) finalises their number and declares hawking and non-hawking zones, and pitches,” said More. “We have also asked Azad Maidan and MRA Marg police to take action against unauthorised hawkers.”

Nikhil Desai, a member of the Town Vending Committee for Zone II, which will draw up a final list of hawkers and demarcated hawking zones, said it is an exercise in futility to have only licenced vendors as unauthorised hawkers keep resurfacing. “The only way to regularise hawking is to have a clear identification between licenced and unlicenced hawkers and a demarcation of zones based on their wares, that is, clothes, vegetables, fruits, books etc,” said Desai. “In addition, there should be a no-go zone like Dadar TT Circle and CSMT station for hawkers.”

The BMC had conducted a survey of 1,28,444 hawkers across the city. A total of 99,435 hawkers had submitted their applications with relevant documents. But only 32,407 eligible hawkers were published in the list.