SHILLONG, Sep 14: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told the Assembly on Wednesday that the state government will soon notify the town vending committee to identify a permanent place in for vendors in the city.
Replying to a Zero Hour notice brought by Mawlai legislator PT Sawkmie, Tynsong said the notification of the rules for the constitution of the committee will be issued within a short period of time.
“Once this town vending committee is in place, we will be able to identify a permanent place as a vending zone. This is being done so that the public at large does not suffer and the street hawkers are able to earn their livelihood on a daily basis,” he said.
He insisted the government has no intention to remove the street vendors without providing them with an alternate location to sell their wares. “We want to streamline the whole process so that the street vendors do not occupy space haphazardly and hamper the movement of pedestrians and vehicles,” he said.
Tynsong recalled the Meghalaya Street Vendors’ Protection of Livelihood and Recreation of Street Vending Act, 2014, passed to address the issue. He also referred to the Street Vendors’ Protection of Life, Liberty and Recreation of Street Vending Rules, 2017, and the Street Vendors’ Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme, 2017, framed to coordinate the activities of street vendors. “Under the purview of the Act, a total of 1,249 vendors have been registered in the six municipal towns of the state. Of these, 342 are registered vendors of Shillong,” he said.
He said the low registration of vendors in Shillong is primarily due to a writ appeal filed in 2016 and recently disposed of by the High Court of Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association had filed the appeal, challenging the validity of the state’s action against a central act applicable all over the country.
After the PIL was filed, the association opposed all activities implemented by the state as most of the vendors are its members, Tynsong said.
Prior to disposing of the petition on August 24, the high court directed the state government on August 16 to deal with the issue of the proliferation of hawkers, occupying footpaths and affecting walkways with appropriate strictness.
“Through the deputy commissioner of East Khasi Hills, the government took steps for the vendors to comply with the court’s direction by constituting a committee headed by a magistrate in these areas to identify and remove such encroachment,” Tynsong told the House.
He further said order was issued to various committees to identify all such locations and to take necessary steps such as relocation of hawkers, reducing stall space and removing structures in order to prevent encroachment on the footpaths and public roads.
“A timeline of 10 days was given by the DC to complete this necessary exercise not intended to harass the street vendors. On the contrary, the motive was to ensure that the footpaths and walkways are affected the least so that the right of way of the pedestrians is not compromised,” he said.
Asserting that the state government is not indifferent to the plight of the street vendors, Tynsong said in order to ensure a uniform regulation for street vending, the state government introduced a bill during the ongoing Assembly session to repeal the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood Regulation of Street Vending) Rules, 2022, and adopt the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, as enacted by the Centre.
He said the bill provides for the summary of the registration of the vendors, certifying of vending zones, relocation of the register of the vendors in the vending zones, the constitution of town vending committees and the constitution of a grievance redressal mechanism.
Moving the Zero Hour notice earlier, Sawkmie urged the state government to find permanent vending zones in view of the problems faced by the hawkers in the state.
Stating that the roadside hawkers are also present in big cities such as Kolkata and Delhi, he said the Meghalaya government needs to strike a balance to ensure the pedestrians are not inconvenienced and the hawkers are able to do their business.
He also pointed out that many of the hawkers are single mothers trying to earn a livelihood for taking care of their families.
“We need to treat the hawkers with respect and dignity. We also need to understand that roadside hawkers would opt for other businesses if they have better opportunities. Due to lack of opportunities, they are forced to earn their livelihood by the roadside,” the Mawlai legislator said.
Sawkmie also said the state government needs to appreciate the hawkers since they have tried their best to stand on their own feet instead of seeking government help.
“I do not subscribe to the district administration’s deadline of removing the roadside hawkers within 10 days. I am sure the government will be able to find a permanent solution and take care of the needs and problems of the hawkers,” he said.
