BMC likely to complete hawker registration in city by Oct-end

Through the survey, the civic body hopes to acquire an actual count of the number of street vendors, and identify ideal spots for hawking plazas and zones so that it can begin addressing the problems of encroachment and unlicensed vending.

According to a Supreme Court order, the corporation was instructed to complete the registration of vendors in four months starting January.

Though applicable to all corporations, BMC sought an extension, given the sheer volume of the city.

A survey conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2005 said there are around three lakh hawkers in the city.

“We already have forms where the hawkers will be asked to give details about their caste, religion, sub-caste, family background and so on before being registered. We have also created 244 teams of five people each comprising civic officials, hawkers’ union representatives, NGOs and welfare associations who will carry out the survey, and also verify the information provided,” said a senior civic official from the licence department of the civic body.

Meanwhile, disappointed with delays in the survey, hawkers in the city are planning a protest march on June 23. “We have reached a stage where getting licences is secondary, we just want the survey to be done first. We will be leading a protest march from Byculla to Azad Maidan demanding reasons for the delay,” said Sharad Indulkar, general secretary of Maharashtra Hawker’s Union.

tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com