Relocation of hawkers from Khyndai Lad
SHILLONG, Jan 21: A fresh attempt by the state government to relocate hawkers from the Khyndai Lad area has met with opposition with the Meghalaya Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) on Tuesday threatening a stir if the provisional town vending committee (TVC) fails to convene a meeting within two days to discuss the issue.
The association demanded immediate withdrawal of the public notice issued by the non-existent TVC and cancellation of all actions taken by it, starting from the process of claims and objections and creation of the eligible list of hawkers and street vendors who should be issued the certificate of vending. The association said the electoral college of eligible vendors should elect their representatives to a legally-mandated TVC.
After submitting a letter to the office of the provisional TVC chairperson, TVC member and MGSPHSVA president Biolin Pyrtuh alleged the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was implemented illegally, in a non-participatory manner.
“There is a serious breach wherein the notice is purportedly being issued by a TVC. Please note that till date, there is no TVC but merely a provisional TVC. The Governor has been wilfully misled into signing a notification and we hope that the High Court is also not being misled,” Pyrtuh said.
“We call for an emergency meeting of the provisional TVC within two days of receipt of this letter to discuss the points raised in this letter as well as our past letters placed before the provisional TVC,” she added.
Stating that the provisional TVC is not a legally-sanctioned institution to notify vending zones, order relocation or approve street vending plans, she said, “We, the hawkers and street vendors of Meghalaya, agreed to the provisional TVC to merely conduct the in-situ survey, study claims and objections and prepare a list of genuine hawkers and street vendors who will be issued the certificate of vending. This was the term the government offered and we agreed to cooperate to roll out the process and ensure smooth implementation of the law.”
She said only a legally-mandated TVC having forty per cent hawkers and street vendors representatives elected by genuine hawkers and street vendors is mandated to approve street vending plans,
“You have been issuing notifications as the provisional TVC chairperson which is illegal and fraudulent. You are merely the chairperson of a provisional TVC. We want you to withdraw all the notices that you have issued because no TVC has been constituted yet,” Pyrtuh said.
“How can you issue public notifications on behalf of a non-existent TVC and get it published in the newspapers?” she asked.
She added that the hawkers refused to accept such notices because there is no TVC and this notice is “blatantly illegal”.
Meanwhile, social activist and a member of MGSPHSVA, Angela Rangad said the hawkers’ struggle has been ongoing for the past nine years. She said Tuesday (January 21, 2025) marked the 53rd year of Statehood but the state government is yet to address the hawkers’ issues, including protection of their livelihood.
She alleged that in the name of the poor and the dispossessed, including the hawkers, the government is looking for opportunities to indulge in corruption. Illegal notices are being issued to the hawkers for relocation, she said.
Stating that the government has started building two parking lots, one at SBI and another at MUDA, she said, “They had mentioned these at a meeting of the provisional TVC but our members objected. They were jumping steps as the in-situ was not completed and the claims and objections were not done properly.”
“They (provisional TVC) had to come up with a list and verify each name. It is important because we want genuine hawkers but the system, which they have followed, will encourage people, who may not be genuine hawkers, to get on to the streets,” she added.
Recalling that the government spoke about the areas of relocation at the provisional TVC meeting and the provisional TVC members suggested to complete the in-situ survey, calculate the holding capacity first, issue certificates and then have a full-fledged TVC, Rangad said, “This TVC is provisional, only for survey, claims and objections. There has to be an election to issue the certificate of vending.”
“TVC does not mean the municipal CEO,” she said, criticising the chairperson taking the unilateral decision of sending his staff to Khyndai Lad to distribute notices telling the hawkers to relocate by February 7.
Questioning who decided to spend Rs 6 crore on the construction of the makeshift relocation areas, Rangad asked if the matter was ever placed before the provisional TVC and who the contractor is.