HC admits petition of street vendors

SHILLONG: The High Court of Meghalaya has admitted the writ petition filed by Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Hawkers and Vendors’ Association against the recent attempts by KHADC to issue vending licenses and registering the hawkers and street vendors.
Court issued notices to the KHADC and the government for reply and joined the writ with the pending writ petition and writ appeal by the association.
The association had demanded implementation of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, legislated by the Centre in which a status quo order was passed on November 25, 2016.
In the writ petition, the association stated that regulation of street vending has to be carried out by a duly constituted Town Vending Committee with 40 per cent members of the committee being hawkers and street vendors. The writ also stated that KHADC has no plenary power of legislation and thus has to follow the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
All the matters concerning hawkers and street vendors will be heard on February 6 next year.
For the last three years, the Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Hawkers and Vendors’ Association has been struggling both within the court system as well as through various memoranda and suggestions regarding the regulations and plans as per law, through which street vending can be better organised.