Street Vendors Act will improve state’s economy, says consumers’ group

Dimapur, May 3 (EMN): The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) asked the government of Nagaland to adopt the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 in the state during the commemoration of International Labour Day in Kohima on May 1. Besides the provisions specified in the Act, the organisation has also demanded for ‘special preferences to be given to the local i.e. Naga indigenous inhabitants while issuing certificate of vending/license.’ It went on to state that it has conducted several awareness programmes on Street Vendors Act, 2014 and appealed to the state government to adopt it during the last three years. “The NVCO observes International Labour Day every year with an appeal requesting the state government to adopt the Street Vendors Act in the state. The NVCO assured the people of the state to continue their mission on awareness campaign,” read the a statement from the organisation, adding that ‘the act is going to be very important and necessary for the citizens of the state as it would promote and protect their livelihood and also improve state’s economy by encouraging the local vendors to promote local product especially organic vegetables and fruits.’ President of NVCO and advocate Kezhokhoto Savi said that the Act will create a conducive atmosphere for street vendors to do their business with dignity and provide livelihood protection to them across the country. The advocate also highlighted the following salient features of the Act via a press statement: i) The Act provides for constitution of a Town Vending Committee (TVC) in each Local Authority, which is the fulcrum of the Act, for implementing the provisions of the Act. It has been provided that 40% member of TVC will be from amongst street vendors with due representation from SC, ST, OBC, minorities and persons with disabilities, of which one-third shall be women. ii) In order to ensure participatory decision making on aspects relating to street vending activities, the TVC will be involved in activities like determination of natural market, identification of vending zones, preparation of street vending plan, survey of street vendors, etc. iii) To avoid arbitrariness of authorities, the Act provides for a survey of all existing street vendors, and subsequent survey at-least once in every five years, and issue of certificate of vending to all the street vendors identified in the survey, with preference to SC, ST, OBC, women, persons with disabilities, minorities, etc. iv) It has been provided that no street vendor will be evicted until the survey has been completed and certificate of vending issued to the street vendors. v) All existing street vendors, identified in the survey, will be accommodated in the vending zones subject to a norm conforming to 2.5% of the population of the ward or zone or town or city. vi) Those street vendors, who have been issued a certificate of vending/license etc, before the commencement of this Act, will be deemed to be street vendor for that category and for the period for which he/she has been issued such certificate of vending/license. vii) It has also been provided that in case a street vendor, to whom a certificate of vending is issued, dies or suffers from any permanent disability or is ill, one of his family member i.e. spouse or dependent child can vend in his place, till the validity of the certificate of vending. viii) Thus the mechanism is to provide universal coverage, by protecting the street vendors from harassment and promoting their livelihoods. ix) Procedure for relocation, eviction and confiscation of goods has been specified and made street vendor friendly. It is proposed to provide for recommendation of the TVC, as a necessary pre-condition for relocation being carried out by the local authority. x) Relocation of street vendors should be exercised as a last resort. Accordingly, a set of principles to be followed for ‘relocation’ is provided for in the second Schedule of the Act. xi) The Local Authority is required to make out a plan once in every five years, on the recommendation of TVC, to promote a supportive environment and adequate space for urban street vendors to carry out their vacation. xii) The thrust of the Act is on “natural market”, which has been defined under the Act. The entire planning exercise has to ensure that the provision of space or area for street vending is reasonable and consistent with existing natural markets. Thus, natural locations where there is a constant congregation of buyers and sellers will be protected under the Act. xiii) There is a provision for establishment of an independent dispute redressal mechanism under the Chairpersonship of a retired judicial officer with two other professionals to maintain impartiality towards grievances redressal of street vendors. xiv) The Act specifies the time period for release of seized goods, for both perishable and non-perishable goods, the local authority is required to release the goods within two working days and in case of perishable goods, the goods shall be released the same day, of the claim being made. xv) The Act also provides for promotional measures to be undertaken by the government towards availability of credit, insurance and other welfare schemes of social security, capacity building programmes, research, education and training programme etc, for street vendors. xvi) The Act provides for protection of street vendors from harassment by police and other authorities and provides for an overriding clause to ensure they carry on their business without the fear of harassment by the authorities under any other law. xvii) The Act specifically provides that the Rules under the Act have to be notified within one year of its commencement, and scheme has to be notified within six months of its commencement to prevent delay in implementation. Support to urban street vendors Support to Urban Street vendors is one of the components of National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) which aims at addressing the vulnerabilities o the urban street vendors through a multi-pronged approach, read the statement. It went on to say that 5% of the total NULM allocation of the state can be spent on implementation of the following components of the mission: i) Survey of street vendors and issue of Identity Cards. ii) Development of city street vending plans. iii) Infrastructure development of vending zones in the city. iv) Training and Skill Development v) Financial Inclusion vi) Access to credit vii) Linkages to social security schemes.