Shillong, Nov 26: To protect the rights of urban street vendors and regulate street vending activities, the Government of India enacted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
This act mandates every state to establish Town Vending Committees, identify and register street vendors, and demarcate vending and no-vending zones. In accordance with the act, the Town Vending Committee (TVC) was established in 2022.
The TVC is chaired by the CEO of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and includes representatives from the Deputy Commissioner’s office, the police department, the urban department, municipal boards, local headmen, the State Urban Livelihood Mission, and hawkers’ associations. The TVC has conducted 10 meetings to discuss the issues related to street vending.
To streamline the process of survey and identification of eligible street vendors, the state formulated the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme in 2023. The scheme provides the principles for the identification of vending zones and the manner in which they shall be notified.
It also provides the manner in which the Certificates of Vending (CoV) shall be issued to eligible street vendors.Furthermore, the scheme provides guiding principles for the selection of eligible vendors and vending zones and outlines the process for their relocation in the notified vending zones. Surveys were conducted in 22 localities between December 2023 and January 2024 as per the guidelines provided in the scheme.
These localities included the following areas, Khyndai Lad, Assembly, Barik, Dhankheti, Firebridge, GS Road, Governor, Iew Mawlong, Laban, Jail Road, Lachumiere, Laitumkhrah Fire brigade, Lumshatsngi, Malki, Motphran, Polo, Qualapatty, Quintton Road, Red Cross, Umsohsun, Wahthapbru, and Wards Lake.
In a recent Public Interest Litigation (PIL) PIL/MLHC010011392021, the High Court of Meghalaya directed the Urban Affairs Department to constitute a committee comprising authorities and identify vending spaces for street vendors.
Subsequently, a meeting chaired by the Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Urban Affairs, along with the Tourism minister, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare minister, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary minister as well as representatives from the Health and Family Welfare department.
Home department, Urban affairs department, Public Works department, and other important departments and stakeholders, a joint decision taken by the Government of Meghalaya.
It was decided that in the first phase, hawkers would be relocated to designated vending spaces in the Khyndai Lad and Civil Hospital areas. The department expects to notify the vending zones and communicate this information to the eligible hawkers at the earliest.
Following this, hawkers will be given 30 days to relocate after the issuance of certificates, as per the scheme. The Town Vending Committee (TVC) is in constant communication with the hawkers’ association and is taking every step to ensure this relocation is implemented in an orderly manner.
The approved street vending plan will be placed in the public domain shortly said Additional Secretary Urban Affair Department Government of Meghalaya in the press statement issued today.
