GMC recently notified 81 street vending zones without completing the survey on street vendors which will further increase the chaos
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) recently claimed that 81 street vending zones were identified by the urban local body which would help bring an end to the street vending chaos in the city. However, the decision may backfire as the street vending zones have been identified without completing the street vending survey. Literally, the GMC does not have any exact data about how many street vendors are there in Guwahati. Who are the vendors who will be allotted the vending zones?
GMC was expected to conduct the survey to identify vending zones, provide identity cards to all street vendors and rehabilitate them in the vending zones. Nothing has happened till now and the GMC has failed to even identify the vendors of the city, but the vending zones have been decided.
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The GMC in collaboration with a Delhi-based NGO had undertaken a survey of identifying street vendors and local vending zones in and around the city. GPlus had reported in September 2022 that the new vending plan would be prepared within six months, but it is not yet complete. GMC In March 2023 had claimed that the survey would be completed by August last year, but even after several months since the deadline, it has not yet been completed.
Asked about the delay, a senior official of GMC talking to G Plus on condition of anonymity said, “The NGO entrusted with the work did not complete it on time for various reasons.” The official said that the NGO – All India Institute of Local Self Government – does not even have a dedicated team in Guwahati to complete the survey. “There are vendors coming up in the city on a daily basis and to conduct such a survey there should be various criteria. Nothing about the survey is planned and the NGO is confused. At present I even doubt they are getting paid by the GMC,” said the source adding that GMC is not serious about the survey.
It needs to be mentioned that GMC did not start the vendor survey for the first time last year. The Assam government in July 2020 had claimed that the state in an attempt to regularise the ever-increasing numbers of street vendors in Guwahati and to provide them with proper licences and business amenities, formulated a new scheme called The Assam Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme 2020. It needs to be mentioned that such a scheme would not have been required if the state government had implemented the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Even after 10 years of the Act being in force, the Assam Government and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) have failed to implement it fully in Guwahati.
After the Act was passed in March 2014, a town vending committee was formed which was headed by the GMC commissioner and the members were from various sectors like NGOs, with 40% members from vendors, banks and police.
GMC officials then claimed that the vending committee identified various zones like South Zone, West Zone, East Zone, Lokhara Zone and Dispur Zone. The zones might have been identified but it was never notified, a GMC source said.
The source added that in the past nothing much had happened. After the Act, a survey was completed in April 2015 to identify the vendors and according to it, there were 7182 of them in the city.
There were 497 food vendors, 727 cloth vendors, 661 fruit vendors, 2044 vegetable vendors, 194 fish vendors, 82 meat vendors, 1163 pan/tamul vendors, 183 chana/puchka/bhel muri vendors and 1631 others. All these vendors were expected to be allotted vending zones with legal papers which never happened. GMC even declared the divider opposite Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) as a vending zone in 2015 and claimed to have provided amenities to the vendors. After the BJP came to power in the state in 2016, the same vending zone was evicted violating the Street Vending Act as according to it, the vendors could be evicted only after identifying an alternative place for them to do their business.
But the moot question is how did the GMC notified the vending zones without first conducting the survey.
A senior official of GMC said, “The survey was done before (2015) and the vendors who took PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) loan will also be added as vendors,” adding that there are around 28000 vendors who have taken PM SVANidhi loan.
PM SVANidhi is a central sector scheme launched in June 2020. It aims to provide micro-credit facilities to street vendors.
A source in GMC said that the scheme is available for beneficiaries belonging to only those States/UTs which have notified Rules and Scheme under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The scheme also says that beneficiaries from Meghalaya, which has its own State Street Vendors Act, may, however, participate.
Interestingly, none of the municipal areas in Assam has completely implemented the Street Vendors Act 2014, and still, the state is providing loans to vendors.
The Rs. 10000 loan provided to each vendor should be repaid in 12 months after which they can avail Rs 20000 loan. “After repaying the Rs. 20000, the vendor is eligible to get Rs. 50000 loan,” said the source.
So, 7182 vendors in 2015 and 28000 vendors have taken loans now. There is a huge increase in the number of street vendors.
But the 81 vending zones can only accommodate around 6000 vendors, said a GMC source adding some more vending zones will be notified soon.
General Secretary of Street Vending Association of Assam, Debajit Senapati talking to GPlus said, “The vending zones are notified but there will be a huge chaos,” adding that the process is not well planned.
Senapati said that he congratulated the present GMC commissioner for at least having taken some initiative following the Street Vending Act, but the move will further increase the chaos.
He said that the survey is not complete and they are following the one done in 2015 in addition to the vendors who took the PM SVANidhi loan. But, the general secretary said, “To meet a target they (GMC) are providing loans to even fake vendors,” adding that some self-help groups and individuals who are not vendors are also availing the loans.
Regarding the 81 zones declared recently, he said the process is ad hoc as in some places where vending zones are required, there are none and vice versa.
He said that the zone declared near Ramakrishna Mission is “vague”. “No vendor will sit there,” said Senapati adding that there were always street vendors on GS Road and no matter how much the authorities try they cannot evict the vendors from GS Road. He was shocked that not even a single vending zone was notified on the GS Road.
Meanwhile, vending nexus has also increased in the city with rampant exploitation of the street vendors.
The Lachit Nagar lane is witnessing a gradual increase in the number of street vendors purveying assorted wares.
Many Locations In Guwahati Declared As Vending Zones By GMC | CHECK DETAILS
The encroachment of the footpaths is increasing and there is a nexus which allows vendors to do their business on the strips meant for pedestrians.
A resident of Lachit Nagar, who also has a prominent shop in the area, talking to G Plus said, “There were no street vendors a few months back but at present, the numbers are increasing.” The resident further added that there is a nexus which is operating and allowing vendors to encroach on footpaths.
A fruit vendor in the area talking to G Plus said, “I have been selling fruits here for the past three months. GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) officials take Rs 30 from me every day.”
The vendor further said that before starting to sell fruits there he had to pay some money to a local leader.
He obviously did not want to elaborate.
GPlus talked to a senior official of GMC who said, “We don’t levy any charge on unauthorised vendors. In Lachit Nagar all vendors are unauthorised.”
The official added that there is a local nexus which is controlling everything in the area. From time to time it seems that GMC officials go for eviction, but after a few hours, the vendors return to their respective places on the footpath. A similar situation prevails across Guwahati. The street vending chaos continues and there is no clear solution with GMC
