The Bombay High Court (HC) has taken suo moto notice of the illegal hawking threat in the city and received intervention pleas from a number of hawkers' unions and federations.
The decision by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove 20 purportedly unlawful hawking locations in Mumbai will be contested by the unions. According to them, a large number of the vendors operating at these sites have already undergone surveys and are qualified for licenses.
The Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union, the Charkop Gorai Hawkers Welfare Union, and the Kamgar Ekta Union Maharashtra are among the organisations that have submitted intervention applications. On December 12, the matter will be heard again.
The unions’ claim that the 20 sites were selected at random and without following the correct process. 200 hawkers who were seated on the sidewalk across Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road in Parel were surveyed twice, by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in 1997 and the BMC in 2014, according to Prakash Reddy, secretary of the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union. He said that following the surveys, the hawkers were granted loans without collateral under the PM Svanidhi scheme.
The BMC has been harassing and evicting these families, who have been running their businesses for generations. He also mentioned that since his union coordinated rallies and sent letters to the municipal corporation, the police, and state government representatives, the crackdowns have decreased.
The civic body appointed watchmen at the 20 spots to stop hawkers from selling goods, but on what basis were these spots chosen? asked Vinita Balekundri, general secretary of the Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, which is affiliated with 50–70 hawkers' unions based in Mumbai. When it comes to regularising hawkers, the civic body has not followed the correct process
Several unions are already respondents in the high court's suo moto suit, according to Kaustabh Gidh, the attorney for the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union and Kamgar Ekta Union Maharashtra. Now, these other unions are attempting to join them in intervening so they may voice their opinions.
Following the high court order, the BMC selected the 20 places in July, including outside the railway stations of Dadar, Andheri, Malad, Borivali, Kurla, and Ghatkopar, as well as across CSMT up to the high court near Churchgate, Colaba Causeway, Hill Road, Linking Road, Mohammed Ali Road, and LBS Road. In subsequent sessions, however, the court pointed out that the city authority had not done enough to make the areas pedestrian-friendly.
Regardless of whether they qualify for licenses or not, orders were to clear the 20 areas that are crowded with hawkers. The civic body is maintaining all their efforts, a BMC official overseeing the operation stated.
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