This was first published in the print edition of Manushi journal, Issue no. 153 of 2006.
- High-resolution satellite imaging of the city (if available) will be used for getting a detailed aerial mapping of the location and density of hawker markets.
- Each cluster of street vendors identified by the mapping will be surveyed vendor by vendor. Questions in the Census will include:
- Name of the vendor/Name of spouse
- Home address of the vendor
- Vehicle used for selling (patri, rehri, mobile stall, etc.)
- Products sold
- Number of years selling at that location.
- Whether the vendor is already a tehbazaari holder.
- Each vendor surveyed will also be photographed digitally. The entire database will be stored digitally.
After the full Census survey is completed a random sample will be taken from it to validate the accuracy of the survey.
The survey will be undertaken by a respected research agency specializing in surveys, such as the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, or the Tata Institute of Social Studies, Mumbai. The research agency selected will be aided by independent organizations like SEWA and MANUSHI, both of whom have a proven track record of finding effective strategies for integrating street vendors into the urban economy in an economically viable and dignified manner. The exercise will take about three months.
Vendor Authorisation and Monitoring Board: A Delhi Street Vendor Authorization and Monitoring Board (DSVAMB) will be created to undertake broad oversight responsibilities in monitoring the activities of the Task Force for implementing the National Policy for Street Vendors, as well as the Task Force’s maintenance of the street vendor identification and authorization process after its creation. The Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi will chair the Authorization Board (DSVAMB). It will include the Union Minister of State for Urban Development, the MCD Commissioner, the Delhi Police Commissioner, two or three respected urban planners, and a representative each from MANUSHI and SEWA.
Task Force for Implementation of the National Policy for Street Vendors: The Task Force will be responsible for the formation and implementation of the Plan of Action for creating well-planned and aesthetically designed Hawker Zones all over the City.
Its first task will be to ensure that an accurate Census of vendors in Delhi is carried out within three months according to the procedures described below.
The Task Force members will select their own Chairperson from among its members, which will include the Chairperson of the Technical Advisory group of the National Urban Renewal Mission; a representative each of MANUSHI and SEWA; and the Coordinator of the Street Vendor Census from CSDS or TISS.
The Task Force will plan, implement and monitor the Census of Street Vendors; make the regulations for the Street Vendor Authorization System; create and supervise the Street Vendor Registration Committees and the Grievance Redressal Committees, and be responsible for all other aspects of the implementation of the National Policy in Delhi. It will operate under a mutually agreed upon contract that will be overseen by the DSVAMB.
The Task Force will be provided funding through this contract that will specify the commitments and undertakings of the signatories to it. The Task Force will be fully authorized to hire the required personnel for efficient and honest implementation of the authorization system for genuine vendors.
The key coordinators of the Survey team will be invited to participate in the meetings of the Task Force; they will provide inputs and insights gathered from the survey. Once the Census Survey is completed, the Task Force will set up the Street Vendor Registration and Grievance Redressal Committees in each municipal ward. Designing Model Vendor Markets: The National Policy clearly states that while designating Hawker Zones to accommodate street vendors, the city planners must give due consideration to the principles of Natural Markets. Every city has its own locational arrangements within which Natural Markets emerge due to market forces of demand, supply and citizens’ convenience. Their location is geared towards catering to the ease and daily requirements of the people of the City as consumers. For example, near hospitals one invariably finds a cluster of fruit vendors, vegetable vendors predominate in residential areas, flower vendors near temples, vendors of cooked snacks and meals near office complexes, etc.
In order to create well-managed and planned Hawker Zones befitting a world-class city, we require the following measures: A group of senior architects and urban planners will be commissioned to make ward-by-ward plans for carving out Hawker Zones and redesigning pavements in such a way that vendors can be accommodated without inconveniencing pedestrians or obstructing the flow of vehicular traffic. However, any delays or difficulties in designing and installing appropriate pavements shall not affect the creation and maintenance of the authorized street vendor zones.
Special care will be given to ensuring that the plans are appropriate to the topography, space availability and flow of traffic and pedestrians in each ward, as well as taking into account the economic functions and the pattern of natural markets in that ward.
The Hawker Zones will include all the clusters of vendors identified in that ward, and wherever necessary and possible, leave space for the future growth of hawker clusters.
The Hawker Zones will follow the Manushi-managed Sewa Nagar model, which has resulted in significant and noticeable reduction of congestion, ensured far greater cleanliness, as well as brought an aesthetic touch to the entire area by providing suitable infrastructure such as proper pavements, cleaning arrangements, and open beautified public spaces which are hitherto found only in elite areas of the city.
In short, well-planned Hawker Zones should compensate for the disorder so far prevalent in most parts of our cities, especially those areas that are inhabited or frequented by average and low-income citizens. The upgraded and redesigned hawker markets will include the following measures to ensure civic discipline; they were tried and tested in Manushi’s Sewa Nagar Model Market:
The first step towards designating a hawking zone will be to draw a Sanyam Rekha Line of Self Discipline beyond which vendors will not be allowed to operate, so that there is enough space on the footpaths for pedestrians.
The space allocated can be created either by building a 4 inch higher platform above the footpath as done in Sewa Nagar, or by simply drawing a groove on the pavement to demarcate hawker space from the footpath.
Each vendor will be given a small area (ranging from 3 by 3 feet to a maximum of 6 by 6 feet, depending on local configurations) beyond which he/she will not be allowed to spread out. Those street vendors who cannot be accommodated on the footpaths will be allotted spaces in areas identified by the Space Planning Group, keeping the principle of Natural Markets in view. The planners will strive to make these areas aesthetically pleasing, colourful, easy to maintain and people-friendly.
Vendors will be assisted in redesigning their stalls and rehdis so that there is adequate storage space available to them and they do not have to spread their goods on the pedestrian part of the pavement, and stay confined to the space allocated to them.
The planners will keep in view the diversity of goods and services that are sold in each market while creating Hawker Zones; for example, allocate more space for fruits and vegetables near residential areas, recognize the appropriateness of vendors of snacks, handicrafts and mementos near tourist spots, etc.
There will be provision for Special Women’s Hawker Zones to encourage women vendors.
Special provisions will also be made for allotting stalls to handicapped people.
There will be a provision for timebound markets that allow for flexible use of space, depending on the time of day. For example, markets can be set up for after office hours in parking spaces; food vendors might be allowed during lunchtime near offices, and at a night bazaar in Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, and Chandni Chowk, etc.
Each authorized vendor will receive an identification card, including the names of family members who are part of the vending operation.
Rights, Duties and I-Cards: The vendor authorized by the Task Force will be the legally authorized street vendor for the location he or she is allocated.
All claims and conflicts will be resolved by the Grievance Redressal Committees set up for each Hawker Zone by the Task Force; the Committees will have adequate representation of local vendors.
Each vendor identified in the Census will be provided an identity card; it will list on it close family members who are actively part of the vending operation.
Each card will be valid for five years; at that time a fresh Census will be undertaken to verify if the vendors allotted spaces have continued personally as the principal vendors in the space allotted to them.
Each vendor will sign a Shapath Patra of the kind made mandatory by Manushi in Sewa Nagar that requires vendors to:
Maintain cleanliness
Stay within the sanyam rekha.
Pay tehbazaari, municipal taxes and electricity dues on time.
The tehbazari fee for each market will be fixed keeping in view the business potential of the area and revised periodically. Higher tehbazari fees will be charged in high turnover congested markets like Karol Bagh and Lajpat Nagar, while newer colonies with less traffic and fewer customers on the outskirts will charge lower fees.
No government authority, only the Task Force authorized committees, will have the power to request removal of a vendor who they have authorized to operate a stall in a particular vendor zone, provided the person continues to follow the rules and regulations agreed upon in the Shapath Patra.
Registration of New Vendors: The Task Force will make clear provisions for entrants into this occupation through the following modalities:
- The Task Force will set up local Vendor Registration committees for registering new applicants for vending sites.
- Those applying will have to submit a written undertaking that they do not have any other means of livelihood nor occupy or own any other vending site.
- They will also have to undertake an oath that they will never sublet or rent out the vending site as and when allotted to them.
- The Registration committees will identify new Hawker Zones or vacancies in old Hawker Zones with the assistance of a computerized database.
- A public lottery will be held every three months for allotment of new vending sites if there are more eligible applicants than locations.
Pilot Projects in Each Zone: While planning is going on, one vendor market will be identified in each zone to be developed as a model market so that residents’ associations see, through concrete examples, the advantages of cooperating in the setting up and monitoring of wellplanned vendor zones in their respective areas. This has the potential of uniting the rich, poor and middle classes in a common endeavour, and brings the educated elite and self employed poor together on a common platform, to work for a common mission—that of helping to make our cities efficient in functioning, dignified and beautiful habitats for all its people.
These pilot projects will be funded by the MCD and the NDMC, and managed on a contractual basis by well established NGOs with extensive experience and integrity, under the supervision of the Task Force; they will serve to help Resident Welfare Associations, trader associations, traffic police and other stakeholders understand how vendor zones can be managed in a manner as to avoid clutter and civic chaos.
The entire operation will be funded by either the MCD or funds made available from the National Urban Renewal mission. The cost of each Census every five years, as well as the administration of the entire plan of authorized Hawker Zones, will be covered by the tehbazari the Government collects from vendors. In fact, the tehbazari fee will provide additional regular income to the Municipal authorities. For example, at Rs 300 average tehbazari per vendor for Delhi, the MCD will earn about nine crore rupees per month from the estimated three lakh vendors in the City.
Creating aesthetically designed vibrant vendor zones will be a major step towards transforming Delhi into a world-class city that gives due respect to the legitimate requirements of all its citizens, including the selfemployed poor.