Hawking policy to get delayed…….Bhavika Jain
Longer Wait State will have to amend BMC Act to enable civic body to give licensed hawkers registration numbers
Longer Wait State will have to amend BMC Act to enable civic body to give licensed hawkers registration numbers
The civic bodys hawking policy will be delayed further because the state government will have to amend the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Act to enable the corporation to provide registration to all licensed hawkers. The draft policy says hawkers with valid licences will be given registration numbers like those allotted to shops and establishments in the city.
There is no so provision in the BMC Act for any such registration for hawkers. We will have to amend the act for that, a senior BMC official said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
The new policy was drafted, following directives from the Supreme Court in 2007, on the lines of the national policy on street vendors.
We have sent a proposal to the state government to amend the BMC Act. It is likely to be cleared in the winter session, SS Kudalkar, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of formulating the policy, said.
The aim of the policy is to demarcate hawking and non-hawking zones to accommodate and organise hawkers.
The draft policy aims at relocating 22,097 licensed hawkers in the city on 250 roads.
The policy excludes more than 4 lakh unlicensed hawkers who have no stalls or pitches.
The policy makes way for food plazas to be set up at railway stations, bus stops, schools, colleges and cinema halls.
A new concept of night-time food courts and weekly bazaars has also been proposed. Under this, hawkers will be allowed to set up shops after 8 pm and keep them open until midnight. The policy also proposes to introduce weekend bazaars in the city. Certain areas in the island city will be selected for setting up food courts and markets only on weekends and public holidays.
Roads that become deserted after sunset, such as the ones in Nariman Point, can be used for night-time food courts, the policy suggests.
Kudalkar said the draft of the policy is ready but is waiting for the act to be amended.
Once the amendment comes through, the BMC will hold a public hearing to discuss the objections and suggestions it has received.