Civic bodies ask govt to take final call on vendors’ fate

After Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has asked the civic bodies to remove encroachments from pavements and footpaths of vendors, the civic bodies have given a week’s time to the Delhi government to take a final call on the Street Vendors’ Policy pending since the last few months. The BJP-ruled civic bodies have warned the government of implementation of the draft policy as approved if the government fails to respond on the issue.

The Corporations have said that despite sending the policy’s draft to the state government earlier, no step has been initiated to notify it. The current situation is that many vendors are starving, said an official. The crisis has deepened after Jung’s initiative to “clear all the national Capital footpaths of street vendors,” added the official.

“After a recent order, the families of the street vendors are in fear. They firmly believe that the Corporations are behind the mess while the fact is that the agencies had issued a circular last year stating that no street vendor shall be evicted till notification of the new policy. Now when the government is not willing to address this issue, we will take sou moto action,” said Ashish Sood, Leader of the House of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), adding that, they will sit with the stakeholders to discuss future course of action.

The leader also said that after conducting a detailed survey, identification of vending zones will be made, certificate of registration will be given and identity cards will be issued to the vendors. “We have written to them (government) to respond within a week so we could work jointly. If we receive no response, we will go alone to protect the interests of the street vendors,” he added.

Notably, the LG’s office had said: “The pedestrians are the most vulnerable category on Delhi roads. We need to work concertedly to offer safe and <g data-gr-id="27">user friendly</g> transit to them on Delhi’s footpaths.” He had directed all civic agencies and also the PWD and Delhi Police to identify all such road stretches where footpaths need to be freed from hindrances to make them usable for pedestrians in their respective areas, in two week’s time.