The Financial Express 11.08.2009

PM wants new deal for urban street vendors

New Delhi: The ubiquitous urban street vendor who often faced harassment at the hands of civic and police authorities can hope for a “new deal” with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself making a strong pitch on Monday for their welfare.

Singh in a letter to chief ministers asked them to make “personal intervention” in taking steps like devising norms for reserving space for the vendors in cities and towns so that they could earn their livelihood without any harassment.

The chief ministers should strive to implement the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors 2009 which aims at ensuring that they are give due recognition at national, state and local levels, he said.

The policy was aimed at enabling urban street vendors to pursue economic activity without harassment and earmark locations where such activity was to be carried out, he said.

Singh suggested that States could use demarcations like restriction-free vending vones, restricted vending zones, no-vending zones and mobile vending areas in every city and town.

The revised policy underscored the need for a legislative framework to enable them carry out an honest living without harassment from any quarter, he said, adding that a model bill has been drafted to protect livelihood of street vendors and regulate street vending.

The revised policy and model bill have already been forwarded by the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation to the states and union territories, Singh said.

The Prime Minister hoped that the states would take steps to “accord a new deal to the urban street vendors as a group who need space and facilities for their legitimate activities”.