E-Paper
PMC cracks whip against illegal stalls sublet by licensed hawkers
During a survey last week, the PMC realised that many of the hawkers with licenses are subletting or renting out their stalls
PUNE The anti-encroachment department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is all set to teach a lesson to those who break the law. During a survey last week, the PMC realised that many of the hawkers with licenses are subletting or renting out their stalls. This led to a massive drive starting June 10, 2022 in which the anti-encroachment department sealed 35 stalls at Bhavani peth, City post and Z bridge, and Natraj galli till 5.30pm.
Four stalls were served notice and sealed as part of the Bhavani peth ward office while 11 were sealed as part of the City post ward office. There was a lot of commotion under Z bridge and Natraj galli at Shivaji nagar when PMC officials served notice to and sealed 20 illegal stalls. The drive will continue till most offenders are served notice or end up losing their licenses.
Madhav Jagtap, head, anti-encroachment department, PMC, said, “This drive has come about because of complaints and demands from people for new licenses. This led us to look at registered hawkers in the city which on site are 11,000. While carrying out this survey, we found that about 60% of the license holders have rented out their stalls, thus making the running of these stalls illegal. Hence we have begun a drive to check for each and every hawker in all zones of the city.”
Further, an amount of Rs32 crore is due to the PMC from the hawkers as it was found during the survey that 70% of the hawkers have not paid rent. “Up until now, the PMC has recovered Rs16 crore and there is still an outstanding of another Rs16 crore,” said Jagtap. He also said that during this drive, they will look at 153 chowks and 45 roads of the city which are ‘no-hawking zones’.
The PMC collects on an average rent between Rs750 and Rs6,000 per month from these hawkers. During the drive, the officers have warned the laggards but despite the warning if they still don’t pay, a penalty of Rs1,000 will be levied. If the hawkers fail to cough up the penalty as well, their license will be revoked or cancelled.
