The Hindu Business Line : `Organised' status for street vendors proposed

Key proposals
Town vending committees will not only regulate vendors, but also identify areas for hawking with no restriction.
It will also set the terms and conditions for hawking and take corrective action against defaulters.
The committee will comprise representatives of the associations of street vendors, representatives from a bank in the local area, public land owning authority and traffic and local police.

New Delhi , May 7

Suggesting an organised stature for street vendors, the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector proposed that vendors across the country be given identity cards and a regulatory environment be created for their activities.

The commission has suggested setting up Town Vending Committees (TVC) on a ward-wise basis for all towns by the municipal authorities.

"The responsibility of TVCs shall not only be to regulate the vendors but also provide upward occupational mobility, other promotional measures, social security and preventive vending by children," according to a report released on the vendors by the Commission Chairman, Dr Arjun K Sengupta.

The Prime Minister's Office had requested the commission to examine and comment on the draft National Policy on Urban Street Vendors prepared in 2004.

These TVCs would also be required to carry out such activities as identifying areas for hawking with no restriction, areas with restriction in regard to day, dates and time and area which would be marked as no-vending zones.

They would also set terms and conditions for hawking and take corrective action against defaulters, according to the recommendation. In regard to allocation of space for these vendors, the commission has proposed that the municipal authorities should regulate allocation of space based on previous occupancy.

Space allocation

If the number of applications exceeds the number of spaces available, a transparent system of selection such as lottery should be followed.

All allotments should be based on payment of a prescribed fee fixed by municipal authorities based on the recommendation of the TVCs.

It further recommended that collection of revenue be made by municipal authority through TVCs, which would ensure that it is based on a predetermined rate of fee.

Social security

Regarding social security, it has recommended the application of legislation on social security for unorganised sector workers as promised in the National Common Minimum Programme. For access to credit and insurance for these street vendors, it proposed extension of credit guarantee fund scheme for small industries to the vendors with suitable modifications.

The scheme was designed by the Ministry for Small-Scale Industries and the Small Industries Development Bank of India to resolve the problems of collaterals and induce banks to gradually move away from a completely risk-averse stance towards small industries.

For TVCs to be transparent and efficient, it proposed that they be formed by representatives of the associations of street vendors, representatives from a bank in the local area, public land owning authority and traffic and local police.

It further suggests that the representatives should preferably constitute 25-40 per cent of the total number of members of the TVCs and at least one third of the representatives of street vendors should be women.

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