The Times of India            11.02.2014

Civic body all set to carry out biometric survey of hawkers

NASHIK: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) will be conducting a biometric survey for identifying hawkers - and provide them with identity cards - in all the six divisions of the city from this week.

The survey, to be conducted by a private agency, will include the number of street vendors and their locations in various parts of the city.

"We have appointed an agency to carry out the biometric survey and they will begin the survey this week," said Dattatreya Gotise, deputy municipal commissioner, NMC. "The survey is being carried out as per the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors. Hawkers will have to get themselves registered with the civic body, following which they will be issued identity cards," Gotise said.

NMC officials said that the 12-member Town Vending Committee has already been formed and that the committee needs to finalize locations for hawkers' zones in all six Nashik divisions.

"We have already suggested some spots and will also issue the identity cards soon," an NMC official said.

The identity cards will include a vendor code number, vendor name, category of vendor, address and photo of the vendor, name of any one nominee from the family/and/or a family helper, nature of business, category (stationary or mobile). If stationary, the vending location will be mentioned. All these will be done with the help of the Town Vending Committee (TVC). Children below 14 years will not be included in the ID card for conducting business, as per the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors.

"Till the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors is implemented, the NMC should not evict any hawker. The centre has directed all states to instruct all the municipal corporations to implement the street vendors' policy and the state government has done so. Now the corporation should speed up the process," said Shantaram Chavan, president, Nashik District Hawkers' and Street Vendors' Union. "Vendors form a major chunk of the unorganised sector but are considered as encroachers and are held responsible for congestion. But this is our means of livelihood: people also depend upon us. Once the policy is implemented, it will benefit everyone," Chavan said.