Shillong, Aug 16: The Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association along with Thma U Rangli-Juki has rejected the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and demanded the state government to incorporate the same guidelines in the Act as the Central Act for Hawkers.
The Association informed that a reminder had been sent to the Chief Minister Mukul Sangma through the Urban Affairs department on 23 June this year demanding strengthening of the State Act by following the same guidelines as the Central Act and to implement it in the state at the earliest.
However the association alleges that after filing RTI in various government departments they have learned that the State Act for Hawkers goes against the spirit of the constitution of India.
Addressing newsmen here on Tuesday, Angela Rangad, TUR member in support of the Hawkers Association said, “The information which we received through the RTI showed us the lackadaisical attitude of the government and also the unconstitutional nature of the Meghalaya Act.”
In a letter submitted to the Chief Minister today the association stated, “On 23 June 2016, we had submitted a petition to you through the Minister, Urban Affairs, regarding our problems and the limitations of the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and we even met the Minister, Urban Affairs, Ampareen Lyngdoh and officers from the government, who assured us that our petition shall be considered pro-actively.”
“It is now almost two months and nothing has happened and illegally constituted Town Vending committees are still making illegal decisions,” the association said.
Rangad said the association have also sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister to apprise him on the various illegal activities of the MUDA department.
“We also sent a memorandum to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) requesting them not to sanction any scheme to the state government for the needs of the Hawkers since the Town Vending Committee (TVC) is still not up to the mark as with the central act,” she said.
Citing an incident she alleged that the state government had avail a scheme from the central government through the state Act however the allotted amount was shifted in constructing a parking lot for buses in Tura.
She said months after the central act was passed on 20 February 2014, the state government rushed through a state Act through an ordinance and which was given assent by the governor on 10th November 2014.
“The presence of two laws dealing with the same subject listed in the schedule VII of the Indian constitution is an anomaly, which can only be resolved in favor of the Central Act. This issue has also been queried by Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in a letter to the government of Meghalaya dated 28 March 2016, but state government has chosen to ignore this very important legal issue,” she said.
