Street vendors in Chennai city fight for more space

The Greater Chennai Corporation has completed 60 per cent of the enumeration of street vendors, across all 15 zones, mandated by the Tamil Nadu Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme and Rules, 2015.

The rules mandate a survey of street vendors, which should be carried out by the town vending committee, following which a certificate of vending and identity card will be issued. A vending fee will also be levied based on the type of street vendors and space occupied. The vendors are classified as stationery vendors, mobile vendor, vendors using motor vehicles and other categories of vendors, including those participating in weekly markets, heritage or festival bazaars, for example. 

In the city, 27,000 street vendors have been surveyed and biometric readings of 20,000 of them have been taken, for issuing the ID cards. “Currently, there is no system in place. We are maintaining the status quo and removing any new street vendors, until the rules are implemented. Following the enumeration, a town vending committee will be formed in each zone to decide ‘vending’ and ‘no vending’ areas,” said D Karthikeyan, Commissioner, Greater Chennai  Corporation (GCC). 

The town vending committee will be headed by the zonal executing engineer, said another corporation official. “The committee will include six members, who will be chosen from street vendors, to represent their interests. Other members will include a health officer, police officials, resident welfare association representatives, NGO members and zonal revenue officials. The enumeration, which has been done with the cooperation of the street vendors, will be completed in the next two weeks,” informed the official. 

In Mylapore’s Mada Streets, where street vendors line up the pavements on the narrow streets and lanes, the move will be a positive one. “We had some Corporation officials take our details and photos for our identity cards,” said 37-year-old Susheela, who is a third-generation street vendor, selling fruits. Pointing to a blue line on the pavement, Manikandan, a 25-year-old manning Nataraj Vilas, a flower shop, said, “Earlier, the shops were on the road. Recently, the officials asked us to move our shops behind this blue line, to avoid traffic disruptions. This shop has been around for 60 years. Where else can we go? We welcome the ID cards as it keep a check on illegal vendors and protect us from being asked to leave.” 

Policy experts and trade unions, however, pointed out that the Corporation has circumvented the procedure mentioned in the rules. C Thiruvettai, President, Small Vendors Committee, which includes 52 such street vendors association, said, “The town vending committee should be formed before the enumeration in each zone. The Corporation has not done that. In addition, many vendors on NSC Bose Road have been evicted, without any information, to make way for parking spaces. The rules also specify that if there are 40-50 vendors in a market area for decades, they cannot be relocated.” 

While stressing on the need for regulation of street vendors, R Geetha, Adviser, Unorganised Workers Federation, said that the enumeration has become a bureaucratic exercise. “Where are the people’s representatives? Two weeks ago, five vendors were evicted from Allikulam Market near Central Railway Station, from a space given to  them by the Corporation itself. As per law, notice must be served, which was not done. Street vendors are vulnerable to evictions. In this scenario, the hope is that the ID cards will protect the street vendors from eviction,” she added. 

EM Mustafa, a member of the street vendor’s association, said that street vendors should be provided an alternative space, in case of eviction. “After court ruling, around 300 vendors in T Nagar were relocated to another complex. In NSC Bose Road too, ‘no vending’ zones have been declared and street vendors have been accommodated in a complex,” pointed out the street vendor from Parry’s Corner. 

Street vendors view redesigning of projects as an obstruction, said Satyarupa Shekhar, Director of Government Outreach and Advisory, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG). “Who are we planning our cities for? The civic body has been looking to keep off certain zones for street vendors, as they are a hindrance to traffic. It seems like the city is being planned for vehicle users and drivers, without equality or inclusion of street hawkers and pedestrians. The Corporation is looking at this implementation, from the perspective of issuing licences rather than protecting  livelihoods. 

It is possible to include street vendors, pedestrians and street furniture such as benches, lamps, trees, bins and toilets, on the footpaths. Instead, these spaces are being converted into parking areas. Hawkers are removed from the view and relocated to complexes out of sight. There is no space for street vendors, who are excluded by design,” she concluded.