Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has warned that enlistment certificates issued to hawkers can be cancelled if it is found they are violating vending rules.
On Friday, councillor Biswarup Dey sought to know from the civic body about its perspective on hawkers in the city.
He sought to know how much space in the footpath can be occupied by hawkers and whether they can use coal fed ovens or plastics on the roadside for selling their wares.
Dey further questioned if a hawker can rent out his/her space to someone else and whether they can occupy more than one space. He also inquired as to whether KMC can remove a stall which has been lying closed for a long period of time.
The member mayor-in-council (MMIC), Debashish Kumar, who is in charge of the hawker management on behalf of the KMC, said: “Hawkers with non-food stalls can occupy 15 sqft and for food stalls it is 24 sqft. Secondly, according to West Bengal Urban Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Rules 2018, use of plastic or other inflammable material inside the stall is prohibited. If one is found using it then their Enlistment Certificate for vending will be cancelled.”
Kumar added: “Renting out one’s space to others is totally prohibited. If found then, the Enlistment Certificate will be cancelled. One hawker can only sell from one spot and not multiple locations.”
He also added that KMC, with the permission of the Town Vending Committee, can remove a stall that is lying unused for over a long period of time. It can be given to someone else for trading. Kumar said one can also find a ward-wise list of hawkers in KMC website.
Recently, the Joint Traders’ Federation has called for a partial strike at city markets, demanding immediate implementation of The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.