SHILLONG: The district administration of West Garo Hills and Tura Municipal Board shall hold consultations with Tura Traders Union and all its affiliates on Februarys 23 at 10 am in district auditorium to discuss provisions of Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 especially relating to vending and no-vending zones in Tura Municipal area.
The outreach programme is jointly hosted by TMB and district administration to sensitize the traders and hawkers about provisions of the Act which has been passed by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly in 2014.
The objective of the consultation process is to inform the street vendors and hawkers about the provisions of the Act which makes several provisions for ensuring protection of livelihood of the street hawkers, registration of vendors and hawkers, identification of vending and no-vending zones, timings, goods permitted for sale and welfare of the vendors also.
The Tura Municipal Board has already identified zones for vending and no vending in view of the need to have more space for vending in an organized manner and to remove congestion.
Registration of all vendors with Tura Municipal Board is a pre-requisite for the planning process involving all stakeholders.
The unplanned vending spaces has led to constricted space on the major arterial roads in Tura and poses problems for traffic management and health and hygiene. The outreach programme envisages to enlist the support of the vendors and their various organizations and associations to jointly agree on vending and no vending zones.
Welfare measures and provisions of the Act for issuance of licenses and their renewals, penalties for not following the provisions of the legislation will be discussed.
The Town Vending Committee headed by the Chief Executive Officer, Tura Municipal Board has already taken steps to identify the vending and no vending zones in Tura and earlier consultations have also been made with traders bodies.
It has been adequately stressed upon in all earlier meetings that the Act is for the benefit of the vendors and their welfare and not against their interest.
