Big disconnect: HC to convene meet on implementing Street Vendors Act
New Delhi: After several hearings where the court explicitly highlighted the poor implementation of the Street Vendors Act, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that there was a big disconnect among the authorities as to how to implement it and called for a meeting of all relevant stakeholders to guide the process.
A bench headed by Justice Vipin Sanghi directed the senior officials of the three municipal corporations as well as the New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Cantonment Board, and representatives of the Delhi government to come to the high court for meeting on the afternoon of December 11.
The bench, also comprising Justice Jasmeet Singh, stated that the representatives of vendors, government officials involved in the implementation of the Street Vendors Act, certain lawyers for government agencies, and other relevant parties were also invited to join the meeting.
"There seems to be a big disconnect. People working with the (Street Vendors) Act, these corporations, they are not even probably applying their mind and they have not understood the way this Act is to work. Therefore we are proposing, let us have a one-to-one," said the bench which was hearing a batch of petitions concerning the validity and implementation of the Act.
The petitions also concern the issues arising from the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street
Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme, 2019, as raised by various market associations and vendors.
The court observed that instead of functioning in accordance with the Act by preparing a plan, surveying and demarcating the vending area as well as regulating the same, the authorities were creating chaos.
"On one hand we are asking you to prepare a plan, you are not taking steps... What is your objective? You have an Act. What are you trying to do? Why do you want to
create chaos?" the court questioned as it reviewed the issuance of the certificate of vending to hawkers.
The court observed that the officials have to apply mind as administrators and that is something (which is) completely lacking and asked them take any area as a test case to implement the Act. Speaking of the situation in Connaught Place, the court remarked, it has become impossible to walk in these areas. It added that if hawking and vending is not regulated in Chandni Chowk, it will again go back to what it was before its redevelopment.
"Why is it that we are having this problem? We will try to understand from them (stakeholders) and give them our understanding, hear them. Maybe they have a different perspective because what we see is that you (officials) are not working the Act the way it is supposed to... The whole purpose of the Act is to regulate it (vending). You are not doing that the way it is supposed to be done. On the contrary, you are going about creating more and more confusion," the bench said.
The court had earlier observed, "we can't let the city go to the dogs, we are here to protect the rule of law. It had expressed concern over the rising number of street vendors in the city and said that the rights of the vendors needed to be balanced with others' rights as when the hawkers used a public way, they impinged on someone's right to walk.
