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Hawker unions join Bombay HC’s suo moto cognisance against illegal hawking

Dec 10, 2024 09:31 AM IST

Hawkers' unions in Mumbai challenge BMC's removal of 20 hawking spots, claiming improper procedures and eligibility for licenses. Hearing set for December 12

Mumbai: Multiple hawkers’ unions and federations have filed intervention applications in the Bombay high court’s suo moto (on its own) cognisance of the illegal hawking menace in the city. The unions will challenge the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) decision to clear 20 allegedly illegal hawking spots across Mumbai. They claim that many of the hawkers present at these locations have been surveyed previously and are eligible for licences.

Hawkers on the footpath from MG Road to LBS Marg via Bhakti Marg, at Mulund (West). (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)
Hawkers on the footpath from MG Road to LBS Marg via Bhakti Marg, at Mulund (West). (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The groups that have filed intervention applications include the Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union, Charkop Gorai Hawkers Welfare Union, and the Kamgar Ekta Union Maharashtra. The case will next be heard on December 12.

According to the unions, the 20 locations have been chosen arbitrarily without following any proper procedure. Prakash Reddy, secretary of the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union, said that 200 hawkers sitting on the footpath across Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road in Parel were surveyed twice–by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in 1997 and by the BMC in 2014–and then given collateral-free loans under the PM Svanidhi scheme. “These families have been conducting their business for generations, despite which the BMC has been bothering them and shooing them away,” said Reddy. He added that the crackdowns have reduced after his union organised protests and wrote to various authorities, including the BMC, the police and state government officials.

Arvind More, a 64-year-old hawker who sells vegetables in XX (location), echoes Reddy’s claims. “My grandmother started hawking here 55 years ago, followed by my father and then me. Authorities come and take our goods often. We have to pay fines to get them back, with additional losses in the process. We also end up paying hafta (protection money). I have a limp, so I can’t run away.”

Vinita Balekundri, general secretary of the Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, which has 50-70 hawkers’ unions based in Mumbai under it, said, “The BMC appointed watchmen at the 20 spots to stop hawking, but on what basis were these spots chosen? No proper procedure has been followed by the civic body in regularising hawkers.”

Kaustabh Gidh, the lawyer representing the Lal Bavta General Kamgar Union and Kamgar Ekta Union Maharashtra, explained that several unions are already respondents in the high court’s suo moto petition. These additional unions are now seeking to intervene alongside them to have their say.

The 20 locations–across CSMT up to the high court near Churchgate, Colaba Causeway, Hill Road, Linking Road, Mohammed Ali Road, LBS Road, outside the railway stations of Dadar, Andheri, Malad, Borivali, Kurla, and Ghatkopar, among others–were picked by the BMC in July after the high court order (stating what?). Yet, in further hearings, the court noted the civic body’s ineffectiveness in clearing the locations for pedestrians.

“Orders were to clear the 20 locations congested with hawkers, regardless of whether they are eligible for licences or not. We are still keeping the efforts going,” said a BMC officer in charge of the action.

Also looming large over the matter are the election results of the town vending committee (TVC), the body in charge of enacting the Street Vendors Act, 2014, which (describe the Act briefly). While the TVC elections were held in XX (when?), the results have not been declared due to court cases (singular or plural? Below, we say ‘case’) to be heard on December 19.

“That case too will be brought up in the hearing on Thursday. Till the provisions for the Act are not resolved, little can be resolved,” said Gidh.

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