National Policy on Urban Street Vendors 2009

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Farhana, SPA Vijayawada

National Policy on Urban Street Vendors 2009

This Policy recognizes that street vendors constitute an integral and legitimate part of the urban retail trade and distribution system for daily necessities of the public.

As the street vendors assist the Government in combating unemployment and poverty, it is the duty of the State to protect the right of these micro-entrepreneurs to earn an honest living.

The Policy aims to ensure that this important occupational group of the urban population finds due recognition at national, state and local levels for its contribution to the society.

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Features

It aims at giving street vendors a legal status. Each street vendor will beregistered under the supervision of a TVC and will be given an identitycard with a code number and category.

Policy recommends:

The National Policy introduces three Zonal Categories:

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Provision of services.

Collection of registration fee monthly.

Restriction-free Vending Zones

Restricted Vending Zones No-Vending Zones

• The National Policy declares that one of the pivotal functions of the TVCs will be to come up with city-specific zoning laws on the basis of consensus among stakeholders.

Features

These are central to many other key elements of the policy such as the pivotal function of the TVCs, the process of registration and record-making, and the modalities of eviction.

The National Policy has proposed three measures to manage and organize street vendors:

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Promulgate zoning laws for stationary street vendors.

Institute participatory TVCs.

Promise some form of social security measures for the street vendors.

Providing access to

credit

Skill development

Housing

Health care benefits

Capacity building

Pension provision

• Other initiatives of the Policy include:

Objectives of the 2009 National Policy

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• Provide and promote the supportive enviornment to vendors.

• Ensure no overcrowding and unsanitary conditions are there.

Overarching objectives

• Legal Status

• Civic Facilities

• Transparent Regulations

• Organization of Vendors

• Participative Processes

• Self Regulations

• Promotional Measures

Specific Objectives

Critical Highlights

The National Policy does not provide a guideline for the states to handle surplus labour force in the sector.

If compared with the draft policy of 2004, the revised document of 2009 makes a significant omission with regard to the protection of street vendors from the existing repressive Municipal laws.

The current draft of the National Policy is more spatial than social.

While most of the states agreed to bring the street vendors in the fold of some sort of social security mechanism, they differed in defining the non-vending zones and in determining the composition of the TVCs.

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The Policy calls for spatial planning norms that acknowledge and accommodate the existence of demand-driven, locality-specific “natural markets” where street vendors tend to congregate.

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STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD AND REGULATION OF STREET VENDING) ACT, 2014

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IntroductionSTREET VENDORS ACT

Street Vendors Act, 2014 is an Indian legislation aimed to regulate street vendors in public areas and protect their rights.

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Lok Sabha- Union minister of Housing and Urban Poverty

Alleviation -September

16,2012.

Bill passed in the Lok Sabha -

6 September,2013 and the Rajya

Sabha - February 19, 2014.

The bill received the assent of the President of India on 4 March 2014.

Contents of the Bill

TVC has to conduct survey for all vendors under its

jurisdiction every 5 years and a certificate has to be

issued to them.

All street vendors will be accommodated in a

designated vending zone.

All street vendors above eighteen years of age will be granted a certificate of

vending. Transfer of certificate is not allowed.

No vendor will be allowed to carry out vending

activities in no-vending zones.

The certificate may be cancelled if the vendor

breaches the conditions of the certificate.

In case of declaration of a specified area as a no-

vending zone, the vendors will be relocated to

another area.

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Contents of the Bill

The local authority may physically remove the vendor and make seizure of goods of

such vendors who have not relocated to the vending zones.

There will be a Town Vending Committee in each zone or ward of the local authority.

There shall be a dispute resolution body consisting of a

Chairperson who has been a civil judge or a judicial

magistrate and two other professionals as prescribed by the appropriate government.

A vendor without a certificate will be penalized and will have

to give a payment that may extend up to 2000.

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Critical Highlights

The Number of street vendors accommodated in each vendingzone would be 2.5% of the population of the ward, zone, townor city. In case the number of applications exceeds the holdingcapacity of a vending zone, the TVC would call for a draw oflots for issue of certificates. Remaining applicants could beaccommodated in an adjoining vending zone.

Street vendors will comprise at least 40% of the memberselected from among themselves. The Act states that thenumber of other members, as may be prescribed, would benominated by the government representing the medicalofficer of the local authority, the local authority, the planningauthority, traffic police, association of street vendors, marketassociations, traders associations, non-governmentalorganisations, community-based organisations, residentwelfare associations, banks and such other interests as itdeems proper.

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Reference

“National policy on urban street vendors”,2009, ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.

Street vendors (protection of livelihood and regulation of street vending) act, 2014

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Thank you

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