The Times of India 20.12.2013
Biometric cards for hawkers soon
Kolhapur: The civic administration will from January 1 start distributing biometric cards among 6,000 hawkers in the city to register them with ward-level committees and facilitate their rehabilitation.
The decision was taken at a meeting between Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials and representatives of the hawkers on Friday.
The biometric cards are important for the hawkers as according to the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012, the civic administration has to provide them with basic facilities in the vending zones. The facilities include solid waste disposal system, public toilets to maintain cleanliness, aesthetic design of mobile stalls and provision for electricity and drinking water for the hawkers having biometric cards and registered with the civic administration. KMC officials said the facilities would be restricted to the hawkers who have the biometric cards to avoid unnecessary stress on those.
The KMC had last year conducted a survey and found that the city has 8,600 hawkers. The survey was done in association with the All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG) - a New Delhi-based autonomous institution recognized by the Union and the state governments for its expertise in urban development management and municipal administration.
City engineer Netradip Sarnobat said, "We will distribute the biometric cards among the identified hawkers. At present, we have made 6,000 such cards and their distribution will be started soon."
The hawkers were asked to submit details of their respective residential proof, identity cards and ration cards to the civic officials. "We have prepared the biometric cards for those who have furnished the details. Those possessing the cards will be considered legal for the rehabilitation once the hawkers' policy is drafted," the engineer added.
The KMC, after receiving the guidelines from the Supreme Court over the drafting of the policy for the hawkers, has decided to reorganize the ward- and town-level committees. "There was 20% representation of the hawkers in the committees. We are increasing it to 40%. The representation of the NGOs was also not considered. But the recent guideline states that 30% of them should represent the committees to finalize the draft for the hawkers' policy," Sarnobat said.
The civic administration has, in the meantime, assured the hawkers to convene meetings of these committees that would come with the draft policy within six months. The administration has already drafted the no-hawker zone for the Shivaji Market Ward office. The draft yet to be finalized.
The hawkers' representatives, however, said civic administration should finalize the draft for the demarcated zones at the earliest. Samir Nadaf, the secretary of the Kolhapur Janashakti Union, said, "The KMC should implement the drafted zones for the Shivaji Market Ward office, where almost 50% of the hawking is done. The KMC should not take any action on the hawkers till the policy is finalized."
