TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2013 (9) TMI 1277
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....ucture/place for his activities. Some street vendors/hawkers are stationary in the sense that they occupy space on the pavements or other public/private places while others are mobile in the sense that they move from place to place carrying their wares on push carts or in baskets on their heads. 2. In last four decades, there has been manifold increase in the number of street vendors/hawkers in all major cities in the country. One of the many factors responsible for this phenomena is unabated growth of population without corresponding increase in employment opportunities. The other factor is the migration of rural population to the urban areas. A large section of the rural population has been forced to leave their habitat because of massive acquisition of land and substantial reduction in the number of cottage industries, which offered source of livelihood to many people in the rural areas and even those living in the peripheries of the urban areas. In recent past, many lakh youngsters have moved from the rural areas to the cities with the hope of getting permanent source of livelihood but a substantial number of them have become street vendors/hawkers because their expectations....
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.... 30.07.2004 but was printed in the journal only in 2009) and Gainda Ram v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi (2010) 10 SCC 715, but the situation has not changed in last four decades. Rather, the problem has aggravated because of lackadaisical attitude of the administration at various levels and the legislative instruments made many decades ago have become totally ineffective. 6. In Sodan Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Committee (supra), L.M. Sharma, J., who authored the main judgment, referred to a number of precedents including Saghir Ahmad v. State of U.P. AIR 1954 SC 728 and observed. 17. So far as right of a hawker to transact business while going from place to place is concerned, it has been admittedly recognised for a long period. of course, that also is subject to proper Regulation in the interest of general convenience of the public including health and security considerations. What about the right to squat on the roadside for engaging in trading business? As was stated by this Court in Bombay Hawkers' Union v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) 3 SCC 528 the public streets by their nomenclature and definition are meant for the use of the general public: they a....
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....ustee is entitled to impose all necessary limitations on the character and extent of the user, should be treated as of universal application. (Emphasis supplied) In his concurring opinion, Kuldip Singh, J. made the following observations: 33. In India there are large number of people who are engaged in the business of "street trading". There is hardly a household where hawkers do not reach. The housewives wait for a vegetable vendor or a fruit seller who conveniently delivers the daily needs at the doorstep. The Petitioners before us are street traders of Delhi and New Delhi areas. Some of them have licences/Tehbazari from Municipal Corporation of Delhi/New Delhi Municipal Committee but most of them are squatters. There is practically no law regulating street trading in Delhi/New Delhi. The skeletal provisions in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 and the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 can hardly provide any regulatory measures to the enormous and complicated problem of street trading in these areas. 35. Street trading being a fundamental right has to be made available to the citizens subject to Article 19(6) of the Constitution. It is within the domain o....
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....e hawkers could do business in Mumbai: (1) An area of 1 m x 1 m on one side of the footpath wherever they exist or on an extreme side of the carriageway, in such a manner that the vehicular and pedestrian traffic is not obstructed and access to shops and residences is not blocked. We further clarify that even where hawking is permitted, it can only be on one side of the footpath or road and under no circumstances on both sides of the footpaths or roads. We, however, clarify that aarey/sarita stalls and sugarcane vendors would require and may be permitted an area of more than 1 m x 1 m but not more than 2 m x 1 m. (2) Hawkers must not put up stalls or place any tables, stand or such other thing or erect any type of structure. They should also not use handcarts. However, they may protect their goods from the sun, rain or wind. Obviously, this condition would not apply to aarey/sarita stalls. (3) There should be no hawking within 100 metres from any place of worship, holy shrine, educational institutions and hospitals or within 150 metres from any municipal or other markets or from any railway station. There should be no hawking on footbridges and over bridg....
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.... (12) Vending of costly items e.g. electrical appliances, video and audio tapes and cassettes, cameras, phones etc. is to be prohibited. In the event of any hawker found to be selling such items his licence must be cancelled forthwith. (13) In areas other than the non-hawking zones, licences must be granted to the hawkers to do their business on payment of the prescribed fee. The licences must be for a period of 1 year. That will be without prejudice to the right of the Committee to extend the limits of the non-hawking zones in the interests of public health, sanitation, safety, public convenience and the like. Hawking licences should not be refused in the hawking zones except for good reasons. The discretion not to grant a hawking licence in the hawking zone should be exercised reasonably and in public interest. (14) In future, before making any alteration in the scheme, the Commissioner should place the matter before the Committee who shall take a decision after considering views of all concerned including the hawkers, the Commissioner of Police and members of the public or an association representing the public. (15) It is expected that citize....
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....licy on Urban Street Vendors, 2004 and observed: 41. After noticing the contents of the statements in the counter, we are happy to note that the State Government is initiating a process for implementation of National Policy on Urban Street Vendors by framing Regulations as envisaged in Section 10.1 of the National Policy. We hope and trust that the State Government will pursue the matter with right earnest and bring it to logical conclusion within the time stipulated. 42. We clarify that the Regulations so framed by the State would be in consonance with the aims and objects of the National Policy to render some sort of succour to the urban street vendors to eke out a living through hawking. 43. We also clarify that the State Government shall frame Regulations in order to solve the problem of hawkers independently without being influenced by any scheme framed by us or any direction issued by this Court in the interregnum. We further clarify that the schemes and directions issued by this Court are purely temporary in nature and subject to Regulations framed by the State Government in terms of Section 10.1 of the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors. In o....
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....tioned above. There should not be any direct approach to this Court by way of fresh petitions or IAs, bypassing the dispute redressal mechanism provided in the schemes. 78. However, before 30-6-2011, the appropriate Government is to enact a law on the basis of the Bill mentioned above or on the basis of any amendment thereof so that the hawkers may precisely know the contours of their rights. This Court is giving this direction in exercise of its jurisdiction to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens. 79. The hawkers' and squatters' or vendors' right to carry on hawking has been recognised as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g). At the same time the right of the commuters to move freely and use the roads without any impediment is also a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(d). These two apparently conflicting rights must be harmonised and regulated by subjecting them to reasonable restrictions only under a law. The question is, therefore, vitally important to a very large section of people, mostly ordinary men and women. Such an issue cannot be left to be decided by schemes and which are monitored by this Court from time to time. 11.....
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....arassment, exploitation and victimization by the State agencies. Shri Prashant Bhushan emphasized that despite the directions given by this Court from time to time, including the interim order passed in relation to the street vendors/hawkers in Delhi, the concerned authorities are not allowing them to conduct their activities. He further argued that the street vendors/hawkers should be allowed to operate in accordance with the provisions of 2009 Policy and the concerned authorities should ensure that everybody is given licence for carrying out his/her activity. Learned Counsel for the parties also suggested that the decision(s) of the Town Vending Committees should be published on regular intervals in print and electronic media and the internet and the High Courts should be asked to monitor implementation of various provisions of the 2009 Policy. 13. At the conclusion of hearing, the Court had given time to the parties to file written submissions/suggestions. On 7th August, 2013, Shri Prashant Bhushan, learned Counsel for the applicants in IA Nos. 322-323 of 2013 and 324-325 of 2013 filed written suggestions. On 8th August, 2013, a written note was filed on behalf of Citizen For....
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....r, it will provide an institutional mechanism for due appreciation of the ground realities and harnessing of local knowledge for arriving at a consensus on critical issues of management of street vending activities. The TVC may constitute, in collaboration with the local authority, Ward Vending Committee to assist in the discharge of its functions. 1.9 This Policy adopts the considered opinion that there should not be any cut off date or limit imposed on the number of vendors who should be permitted to vend in any city/town, subject to registration of such vendors and Regulation through the TVC. At any time, an urban poor person can decide that he or she would like to go to a wholesale market, purchase some items and sell these in vending zones during permitted hours to make an honest living. The vendor may not be subject to undue restrictions if he/she wishes to change the trade. In order to make this conceptual right a practically feasible right, the following would be necessary: i) Vendor markets/outlets should be developed in which space could be made available to hawkers/vendors on a time-sharing model on the basis of a roster. Let us say that there are 500 s....
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....ban street vendors to carry out their vocation while at the same time ensuring that their vending activities do not lead to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in public spaces and streets. 3.2 Specific Objectives This Policy aims to develop a legal framework through a model law on street vending which can be adopted by States/Union Territories with suitable modifications to take into account their geographical/local conditions. The specific objectives of this Policy are elaborated as follows: a) Legal Status: To give street vendors a legal status by formulating an appropriate law and thereby providing for legitimate vending/hawking zones in city/town master or development plans including zonal, local and layout plans and ensuring their enforcement; b) Civic Facilities: To provide civic facilities for appropriate use of identified spaces as vending/hawking zones, vendors' markets or vending areas in accordance with city/town master plans including zonal, local and layout plans; c) Transparent Regulation: To eschew imposing numerical limits on access to public spaces by discretionary licenses, and instead....
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....ain places at certain times in response to the patterns of demand for their goods/services. For this purpose, photographic digitalized surveys of street vendors and their locations should be conducted by competent professional institutions/agencies. This is to be sponsored by the concerned Department of State Government/Urban Development Authority/Local Authority. b) Municipal Authorities should frame necessary rules for regulating entry of street vendors on a time sharing basis in designated vending zones keeping in view three broad categories-registered vendors who have secured a license for a specified site/stall; registered street vendors in a zone on a time sharing basis; and registered mobile street vendors visiting one or the other vending zone; c) Municipal Authorities should allocate sufficient space for temporary 'Vendors' Markets' (e.g. Weekly Haats, Rehri Markets, Night Bazaars, Festival Bazaars, Food Streets/Street Food Marts etc.) whose use at other times may be different (e.g. public park, exhibition ground, parking lot etc.). These 'Vendors Markets' may be established at suitable locations keeping in view demand for the wares/se....
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....izations such as NGOs, representatives of professional groups (such as lawyers, doctors, town planners, architects etc.), representatives of trade and commerce, representatives of scheduled banks and eminent citizens. This Policy suggests that the representatives of street vendors' associations may constitute forty per cent of the number of the members of the TVC and the other three categories may be represented in equal proportion of twenty per cent each. At least one third of the representatives of categories of street vendors, resident welfare associations and other civil society organizations should be women to provide a gender focus in the TVC. Adequate/reasonable representation should also be provided to the physically challenged in the TVC. The process for selection of street vendors' representatives should be based on the following criteria: * Participation in membership-based organisations; and * Demonstration of financial accountability and civic discipline. b) The TVC should ensure that the provision of space for vendors' markets are pragmatic, consistent with formation of natural markets, sufficient for existing demand for the stre....
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....ce with the standards of planning and the nature of trade/service should be adopted. This system is described in greater detail below. a) Photo Census of Vendors: The Municipal Authority, in consultation with the TVC should undertake a comprehensive, digitalized photo census/survey/GIS Mapping of the existing stationary vendors with the assistance of professional organisations/experts for the purpose of granting them lease to vend from specific places within the holding capacity of the vending zones concerned. b) Registration of Vendors: The power to register vendors would be vested with the TVC. Only those who give an undertaking that they will personally run the vending stall/spot and have no other means of livelihood will be entitled for registration. A person will be entitled to receive a registration document for only one vending spot for him/her (and family). He/she will not have the right to either rent or lease out or sell that spot to another person. c) New Entrants: Those left out in the photo census or wishes to take up street vending for the first time will also have a right to apply for registration as vendors provi....
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....ysical eviction may be resorted to. In the case of vending in a 'No-vending Zone', a notice of at least a few hours should be given to a street vendor in order to enable him or her clear the space occupied. In case of relocation, adequate compensation or reservation in allotment of new vending site should be provided to the registered vendors. 5.2 With regard to confiscation of goods (which should happen only as a last resort rather than routinely), the street vendors shall be entitled to get their goods back within a reasonable time on payment of prescribed fee, determined by TVC. 6.6 Allotment of Space/Stationary Stalls Stationary vendors should be allowed space/stalls, whether open or covered, on license basis after photo census/survey and due enquiry in this regard, initially for a period of 10 years with the provision that only one extension of ten years shall be provided thereafter. After 20 years, the vendor will be required to exit the stationary stall (whether open or covered) as it is reasonably expected that the licensee would have suitably enhanced his/her income, thereby making the said stall available for being licensed to a person b....
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....om the category of street vendors/hawkers shall be women. (iii) The representatives of various organizations and street vendors/hawkers shall be chosen by the Town Vending Committee by adopting a fair and transparent mechanism. (iv) The task of constituting the Town Vending Committees shall be completed within two months of the issue of instructions by the Chief Secretaries of the State and the Administrators of the Union Territories. (v) The Town Vending Committees shall function strictly in accordance with the 2009 Policy and the decisions taken by it shall be notified in the print and electronic media within next one week. (vi) The Town Vending Committees shall be free to divide the municipal areas in vending/hawking zones and sub-zones and for this purpose they may take assistance of experts in the field. While undertaking this exercise, the Town Vending Committees constituted for the cities of Delhi and Mumbai shall take into consideration the work already undertaken by the municipal authorities in furtherance of the directions given by this Court. The municipal authorities shall also take action in terms of Paragraph 4.2(b) and (c). ....