Taking note of the increasing number of complaints by citizens, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to scrap the hawking zones’ list. It has asked all ward offices across the city to pull down the list from their notice boards.
In a letter issued to assistant commissioners of all 24 wards, civic chief Ajoy Mehta has directed that the hawking zones list not be displayed until the Maharashtra Street Vendors Rules are finalised.
The state government has invited suggestions and objections to the draft rules, to be sent within a month. The BMC had also, earlier this week, begun the process of seeking suggestions and objections to the existing list of hawking zones. Ward offices across the city were asked to display the list on their notice boards. Currently there are 15,159 licensed hawkers in the city.
“We are awaiting the state government’s guidelines as per directions of the high court on the town vending committee. The amended hawking zones list will be prepared according to the new guidelines,” Mr Mehta told The Asian Age.
The Supreme Court has directed all civic bodies and corporations to implement the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors 2009 by forming town vending committees.
According to the civic chief, the hawking zones list would be a futile exercise if they are not in alignment with the Maharashtra Street Vendors rules.
“By displaying the list we will only create confusion in the minds of citizens. So I have instructed the ward officials to wait and check if the hawking zones list is in alignment with the Maharashtra Street Vendors final rules. The list will be displayed only it is verified with the rules,” Mr Mehta said.
“It’s a good move,” said Nikhil Desai, co-ordinator of AGNI, F-North ward.
“Preparing the hawking zones’ list as per the state rules will also bring authenticity to it,” he added.
