Street Vendors Act

Source-This post on Street vendors Act has been created based on the article “Implementing the Street Vendors Act” published in “The Hindu” on 30 April 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper 2– Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes.

Context-The Street Vendors Act, 2014, was a big step forward after almost 40 years of legal discussions and activism by street vendor groups throughout India. The article highlights the challenges in its implementation since its inception. Street Vendors Act

What are the provisions of the Street Vendors Act?

Objective– It aimed to safeguard and manage street vending in cities by setting up rules at the state level and implementing them through Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

Key provisions-

1) Accommodating all ‘existing’ vendors in vending zones and issuing vending certificates.

2) Establishing a participatory governance structure through Town Vending Committees (TVCs), with 40% representation of street vendor representatives and 33% of women street vendors.

3) Mechanisms for addressing grievances and disputes through a Grievance Redressal Committee.

4) Setting a precedent for inclusive and participatory approaches to address street vending needs in cities.

What is the significance of Street Vendors for urban India?

1) Street vendors, comprising about 2.5% of a city’s population, serve diverse functions in city life. Local vegetable sellers and food vendors are essential providers of daily services.

2) The vendors make city life affordable for others by providing vital links in the food, nutrition, and goods distribution chain at reasonable prices.

3) They are integral part of Indian culture. For ex- imagine Mumbai without its vada pav or Chennai without its roadside dosai.

What are the challenges in the implementation of Street vendors Act?

1)  Administrative challenges-

A) Increased harassment and evictions of street vendors, contrary to the Act’s emphasis on protection and regulation.

B) Outdated bureaucratic mindset viewing vendors as illegal entities.

C) Lack of awareness and sensitization about the Act among authorities, the public, and vendors themselves.

D) Limited influence of street vendor representatives in TVCs, and tokenistic representation of women vendors.

2) Governance challenges-

A) Weak existing urban governance mechanisms.

B) Lack of integration with the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act for urban governance.

C) Insufficient powers and capacities of ULBs.

D) Top-down urban policies like Smart Cities Mission ignoring the Act’s provisions for vendor inclusion.

3) Societal challenges-

A) The prevailing image of the ‘world-class city’ tends to be exclusionary, marginalizing and stigmatizing street vendors.

B) City planning, policies and how people see them perceive vendors as obstacles to urban growth rather than valued participants in the urban economy.

What should be the way forward?

1) Decentralized Approach-Initially, guidance and control should come from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. However, over time, this needs to be decentralized over time to ensure effectiveness in addressing the diverse needs and contexts of street vendors nationwide. For ex- PM SVANidhi

Read more- Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana

2) Role of ULBS- ULBs need to improve their ability to plan for street vending in cities. Instead of top-down actions from departments, there should be more thoughtful discussions at the level of TVCs. Urban schemes, city planning guidelines, and policies need to be amended to include street vending.

3 Addressing Emerging Challenges in Street Vending– There is a need to address emerging challenges like climate change impact, surge in vendor numbers, e-commerce competition, and reduced incomes.

4) Innovative measures-The National Urban Livelihood Mission’s Street vendor sub-component should facilitate innovative measures to address changing realities.

Question for practice

Highlight the challenges in the implementation of Street vendors Act? What should be the way forward?