The Times of India                    11.03.2013

Despite failures, corporation says it will evict hawkers in 4 months

CHENNAI: The city corporation
appears to be working on the motto “Better late than never”. After
several failed attempts, the civic body on Thursday informed the Madras
high court that all illegal shops across the city will be removed in
four months.

In T Nagar, one of the localities most affected by hawkers
and illegal shops, the move has brought faint smiles on the faces of
residents. Shanthi Nagarajan of T Nagar said the move is welcome as long
as it is implemented effectively. “The traffic here is always heavy but
as hawkers eat up the pavements, pedestrians take to the road leaving
little space for vehicles.”

Corporation officials said that the
eviction drive will begin across the city soon. “We have received the
number on encroachments from the traffic police. We will take severe
action against hawkers.” They also say that there has not been enough
cooperation by police to keep hawkers away. “We have been conducting
eviction drives regularly in the last few years but they always return
to the spot after a few days. We cannot always keep an eye on the
hawkers. It is also the duty of police,” said a corporation official.

To add to the problem of pavements being occupied by hawkers, a study
by a city-based NGO has found that most pavements in the city are less
than 1.5m wide. A study conducted in 10 zones of the city by Transparent
Chennai found that about 40% of the 830-km footpath in localities like
Mylapore and T Nagar are less than 1m wide. Besides unauthorised parking
of vehicles, electrical junction boxes, garbage bins and streetlights
also take up space on the pavements.

The city has about 3,966
licenced hawkers in 31 designated areas, including Habib Ahamed Market,
Chinnathambi Street, North Usman Road and Pantheon Road. But unofficial
statistics show that their numbers go over 10,000. And if the Street
Vendors Bill is passed in Parliament during this session the city could
get up to 1.62 lakh licenced hawkers. This will bring the spotlight on
the two multi-storied hawker’s complexes in T-Nagar and Ayanavaram which
are yet to be opened.