By Gaurav Sharma
December 2009
Street vendors serve a very large portion of Delhi's population (photo: Gaurav Sharma)
As vendors fight for the right to livelihood, municipal authorities and police continue to harass them, ignoring SC rulings and govt policy
Mohammad Haneef lost one hand and a leg in an accident seven years ago. Since then, life for him has been a constant struggle. He finally ended up as a vendor on the footpath at Khari Bavri Masjid in Old Delhi and his struggle continues.
It's a tough life for these street vendors. They don't fall under the category of the unemployed, nor do they demand any financial assistance. What they do seek is a more empathetic approach from the authorities.
Unfortunately, the efforts of the vendors to make an honest living have earned them nothing but the taint of law-breakers. In Delhi, they live under constant fear of extortion, punishment and the fear of losing their livelihood.
Mohammad Haneef's situation is a case in point. "After the accident, I had no one to look after me. I decided to take up vending as it doesn't require too much running around. Had I not taken up vending, I would have died miserably," he says.
Haneef may have overcome the odds in his struggle to survive, but he treads a thin line when it comes to following the law. The space he uses on the pavement to sell his goods isn't exactly legal. As a result, the axe of eviction is always hovering over his head.
However, how will Haneef make a living if he, like the other vendors, is evicted from the area? The administration seems completely oblivious to their plight. That's not all. Police harassment, extortion and ruthless beatings are part and parcel of daily life for these vendors.
The voice of their struggle has also reached the doors of the Supreme Court. Their long-drawn battle and the SC's intervention galvanized the Indian government into making National Urban Policy on Street Vendors (NPSV). Regrettably, these vendors are still clamoring for justice.
The policy, formulated in 2004 and revised again in 2009, recognizes the positive role of street vendors and hawkers in providing essential commodities to people at affordable rates. It directs all states to work in conformity with the policy.
In accordance with the NPSV, the responsibility of demarcating and identifying hawking- zones lies with the Ward Vending Committee under MCD. Though Delhi Municipal councils claim to have framed the schemes and constituted committees for the implementation of the policy, the schemes don't seem to be taking off.
Mukut Sarma, Programme Manager, National Association of Street Vendors (NASVI), says that no vending sites have been demarcated yet. "Even after the sites are demarcated, the Zonal Vending Committees will have a final say in approving the demarcated territory for vendors and hawkers," he says.
"It is appalling that the Delhi government has not only miserably failed to implement the policy but continues to flout the rules with impunity. The process of demarcation has been lingering for a long time," adds Sarma. "Had it been a corporate project or an SEZ, every one in the government, from top to bottom, would have worked day and night to identify the site, procure land and allot it to the concerned business group swiftly", he argues.
Supreme Court of India has also upheld the positive role of these vendors, who without becoming an added burden on the economy make goods available at reasonable rates, and remain critical to India's economy.
In Sodan Singh and others versus New Delhi Municipal Council, the Supreme Court stated: "the small traders on the sidewalks can considerably add to the comfort and convenience of the general public, by making available ordinary articles of everyday use for a comparatively lesser price. ….. The right to carry on trade or business mentioned in Article 19 (1) g of the Constitution, on street pavements, if properly regulated, cannot be denied on the ground that the streets are meant exclusively for passing or re-passing and no other use."
Despite the ruling, administration has failed to recognize the vendors. Sunil, who hawks at Janpath, says despairingly, "All these policies and rulings have been of no help. The police treats us with cruelty… they take away our goods. The baton wields the power, not the Supreme Court."
He asks, 'what is our fault if want to make our living by vending and hawking. We don't break into houses or resort to looting people."
However, municipal authorities in Delhi claim to be working on a solution. Dr Amiya Chandra, Officer on Special Duty, MCD says, "The identification of the vending sites is underway .We are in the process of conducting digitized photo census so that we can give tehbazari to genuine vendors and hawkers. We will implement the NPSV in letter and spirit."
However, Mukut Sarma has a different take on this. Rubbishing the MCD claim, he says "Since the policy mentions consultation of street vendors associations to demarcate and identify the hawking zones, MCD is now passing its burden on us and demanding that we prepare and give it the list of these zones."
Another MCD official says that the numbers of street vendors have gone out of proportion and it is difficult to accommodate all of them in the city vending zones. When told that the actual number of vendors was still less than the approved limit, he replied, "We will definitely do something about it."
According to the NPSV, 2.5 per cent of the vendors in proportion to the city's population could be accommodated at vending sites. It is to be noted that total number of vendors and hawkers who have applied for vending license is 1, 31,807, which is way below 3.5 lakh, i.e. 2.5 per cent of 14 million, the present population of the Capital.
Some municipal officials are of the opinion that these illegal vendors pose a threat to the security of the city as they are so large in number that anyone can easily place a bomb in the melee and disappear without getting caught.
'Were there street vendors in the Mumbai Taj Hotel or in Parliament when terrorists wreaked havoc? How can we pose security hazards? These are just ridiculous excuses to drive us out. In the name of security reasons they snatch our livelihood,' says a street vendor in Palika Bazar.
Sarma alleges that the policemen and MCD officials are hand-in-glove with each other. He said: "These officials have a vested interest in keeping these vendors without license because once they get legitimacy and a fixed place to do business, the huge amount of 'protection money' they extort daily from these vendors will come down drastically."
Another NASVI activist said, "They flout all rules. The policy says mobile vending should be permitted in all areas, even outside the 'vendor market'. However, the administration runs roughshod over these mobile vendors and policemen rough them up, often robbing them of goods in the name of preventing 'illegal vending'.
Every court ruling and suggestion has been carelessly thrown around by MCD. The Delhi Law Special Provision Act 2007 (Delhi Act) restrains removal of unauthorized vendors and squatters. The act was extended for one year but in 2008 it was extended once again till 31.12.2009. Despite this act, the authorities continue to target vendors.
The vendors claim that the space used by them is miniscule in comparison to the parking space taken up by private vehicles in all markets. "They can manage parking better by putting restrictions on private vehicles in the market and allot us that space", suggests Jagpreet, who sells leather items in Sarojini Nagar market. It has been estimated that the parking space taken up by private vehicles in Delhi is greater than the area of all slum settlements that house a significant portion of Delhi's population.
The earnest efforts of these self-employed vendors have only earned them the stigma of being an encroacher. Despite repeated judgments of Supreme Court, lack of political will and widespread corruption deny these people one of their basic rights: to practice any trade and profession in any part of the country to earn their livelihood.
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