RTI ACTIVISTS INSPECT FILES
Rights activists stumble on wrongs in licence dept
Mumbai: Civil rights activists on Thursday inspected files in the BMCs licence department using Section 4 of the RTI act which empowers citizens to inspect files and documents of a public office without filing an RTI query.
The civil activists, led by Krishnaraj Rao of Sahasi Padyatri, recovered documents that revealed some facts about the disconnect between the top municipal officials and ward officers and between the civic body and the police administration.
The documents, which were inspected by the activists at the office of the licence department at Palton Road, pointed out that despite top municipal officials pleas to the ward officers asking them to implement the Supreme Court order on hawking zones and no-hawking zones, nothing had been done on ground.
Thirty-six circulars have been issued by the additional municipal commissioner since 2004 asking ward officers to implement the SC judgment fearing contempt of court. The civic body has even been asking for police cooperation but nothing has come out of it, said Rao.
Rao said that an internal list dated September 2007 mentioned that of the 541 roads that were cleared of hawkers in the various wards, 412 had lapsed back to the normal state of affairs after they were handed over to the police for maintenance.
Only 129 roads were maintained by the police, said Rao, adding that it clearly showed that there was lack of political will to implement the SC judgment.
In addition, civil activists unearthed little-known laws governing hawker licences that were never implemented. There are two lakh unlicensed hawkers and 15,000 licensed hawkers. Not a single license has been issued since 1979, said Rao.
Rao said that according to the SC judgment, places near temples, railway stations, schools and hospitals could not be referred to as hawking zones. Hawkers are forbidden to erect a structure or project any roof over the area allotted to them, or to leave any belongings on the road after business hours (ending at 8.30 pm). The terms of the licence clearly state that breaking the rules can result in cancellation of their licences, said Rao.