SHILLONG, July 18: Peeved at Chief Secretary MS Rao for ‘ignoring’ the central instruction to implement the Act on hawking and street vending in Meghalaya, the Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers & Street Vendors Association has questioned the stance of the official.
“It is shocking that the head bureaucrat of Meghalaya is not fulfilling his constitutionally mandated duty and is indulging in anti-people actions,” the Association said in a statement issued here on Sunday.
While demanding implementation of the central Act, the association has urged upon the state government to carry out immediate participatory in-situ survey of hawkers and street vendors. It further demanded immediate constitution of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) with 40 per cent members of hawking and street vending community and 10 per cent members of the NGOs/civil society who have worked with the vending community.
It added that the TVC should then issue vending licenses to genuine hawkers and street vendors as identified by the survey.
The Association also said that natural and heritage markets in Shillong including Khyndai Lad, GS Road, Bimola junction, Iewduh, Laitumkhrah, Polo, Jingkieng and Rynjah should have places for vending based on the holding capacity as mandated by law. “A similar exercise of establishing vending spaces in heritage markets in Shillong, outskirts and other district towns should also be undertaken,” it maintained.
Earlier, the Association had also shot off a letter to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and the central government over the matter.
It also recalled that the Centre had asked all the state governments to be proactive in implementing the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which was passed by Parliament to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights.