Don't play politics: HC on Delhi govt's implementation of Street Vendors Act

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday pulled up the Delhi government for not preparing the statutory street vending plan saying enough politics and "mockery" has been done and questioned the formation of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) for the NDMC area.

The court said the administration of the city cannot be held to ransom at the hands of street vendors and maintained that it has ordered for the removal of illegal vendors and hawkers from the Connaught Place area as the law has to be implemented as it is in the no-hawking zone.

Please get down to some real work. Enough of politics. Where is the (street vending) plan? You need to first come out with the plan. Unfortunately, we are saying with a lot of pain that you people are not acting in the manner the Street Vendors Act was framed. People are taking advantage out of it. You are not able to make headway. If you would have done it with bonafide, things would have been different today, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said.

We will not mince our words. Don't play politics. We mean business. We are giving you one opportunity to mend your ways now, the bench told the counsel for the Delhi government.

The bench also raised questioned over the way the TVC for the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area has been formed which includes representatives of small markets but excludes the bigger stakeholders like shopkeepers of Connaught Place, Sarojini Nagar, Khan Market, Janpath, Gole Market, and Bengali Market.

You have not worked seriously while forming this TVC. You are forming TVC for the NDMC area and you are not including representatives from Connaught Place and Sarojini Nagar. We think the whole process is a mess. The way it is being worked out is completely wrong. The way TVC is formed, we are sorry to say but it appears it is a complete mockery, it said, adding, you cannot hold the administration of the city to ransom at their hands .

The court's observations came while hearing a plea by New Delhi Traders Association, which represents shop owners and operators in the Connaught Place (CP) area, seeking to strike down the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme, 2019.

The high court issued notice and sought response of the Delhi government and NDMC on the petition and directed the Delhi government to specifically mention in the affidavit the justification for the constitution of the current TVC for the NDMC area.

It also asked the government to mention the background of the NGO members, including the field in which they are working and the causes that they are taking up.