It wants to create hawking zones in housing societies by amending the Development Control Rules, a suggestion that is bound to spark a furore.
The government also proposes to replace the system of giving licences to hawkers by simply registering them to promote competition. These suggestions are part of the hawking policy drafted by the state urban development department to regulate more than two lakh hawkers in the city, according to sources in the government. The draft also proposes to create more hawking zones across the city.
According to an official involved in the drafting of the policy document, a dedicated force of nearly 400 police personnel would be given to the civic body to strictly implement the Supreme Court guidelines of not allowing hawkers within 150 metres of public places, including railway stations, religious places, and education institutions.
The policy is on the lines of the National Hawkers Policy formulated by the central government. The Supreme Court had directed the central and the state governments to formulate a hawking policy, after which the SC guidelines would stand abolished.
We consider hawkers an informal sector and an integrated part of society. The sector contributes to the GDP and helps control the prices of essential goods. While bringing in deterrent acts, the enforcement will be strengthened by providing urban local bodies [BMC in Mumbai] with a dedicated police force, the official said.