SHILLONG, May 19: The Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers & Street Vendors’ Association (MGSPHSVA) has hailed the state government’s decision to repeal the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, in order to follow the central law pertaining to street-vending.
The state government through its advocate general on Wednesday informed the High Court of Meghalaya that it proposed to do away with the 2014 Act.
“We have kept pushing for the implementation of the central law on street vending. The decision of the state government to repeal the state act is the biggest victory for the hawkers and the citizens of this state,” Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) member, Angela Rangad told reporters on Thursday.
She said the MGSPHSVA was formed six years ago due to the discrimination and oppression against the working class. She recalled rampant illegal evictions from the streets since 2015 with the authorities never returning the confiscated items to the vendors.
“Here are people who are trying to earn a livelihood. The state was going against people who do not even have the capital to buy their wares as if they were criminals,” Rangad said.
She said TUR began its association with the street hawkers and vendors by trying to understand their issues and start a discussion on various laws and options available to safeguard their interests. “We also realised that the Meghalaya government had illegally brought in the state law when there is already a central law on hawking. We challenged the state law that has clauses to disempower the hawkers and were nothing but an excuse to evict them,” she said.
Rangad pointed out that there are enabling provisions in the central law that ensure alongside the regulation of hawking, there would be the protection of livelihood through the constitution of a town vending committee with 50% of the hawkers themselves as members.
She said the submission of the state government to the high court is a victory of women, indigenous people the working classes who came together.
According to her, more than 70% of the members of the association are Khasi, Jaintia and Garo people who are trying to raise their children and have a livelihood.
“State oppression and illegal eviction notwithstanding, there were non-state actors taking advantage of the most marginalised section of our society. There were extortions by people who would promise to help,” Rangad said.
She said even the non-state oppression stopped ever since the association was formed.
But she warned that the struggle for the vendors and hawkers has not ended with the government’s decision. “The law needs to be made operational, rules have to be notified and a town vending committee formed. We will closely follow up on the composition of the town vending committee since it is the hawkers themselves who should take the lead,” she said. On the proposal to have a permanent vending area or hawkers’ zone, Rangad said a mall somewhere in the MTC building is expected to be provided. The association has suggested a space at Them Iew Mawlong for the hawkers.
