The State government has decided to relocate hawkers to designated vending spaces in the Khyndai Lad and Civil Hospital areas of the city in the first phase of the relocation process.
The Urban Affairs Department will notify the vending zones and communicate this information to the eligible hawkers at the earliest. Following this, hawkers will be given 30 days to relocate after the issuance of certificates as per the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme.
This was decided at a recent meeting of a committee chaired by Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Urban Affairs Sniawbhalang Dhar attended by three cabinets ministers Paul Lyngdoh, Ampareen Lyngdoh and Alexander Laloo Hek as well as representatives from the departments of Home, Health, Urban Affairs department, PWD and other important departments and stakeholders.
According to the Urban Affairs Department, in a recent Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Meghalaya High Court has directed the department to constitute a committee comprising authorities and identify vending spaces for street vendors.
“To streamline the process of survey and identification of eligible street vendors, the state formulated the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme in 2023. The scheme provides the principles for the identification of vending zones and the manner in which they shall be notified. It also provides the manner in which the Certificates of Vending (CoV) shall be issued to eligible street vendors. Furthermore, the scheme provides guiding principles for the selection of eligible vendors and vending zones and outlines the process for their relocation in the notified vending zones,” the Urban Affairs Department said.
It also informed that surveys were conducted in 22 localities between December 2023 and January 2024 as per the guidelines provided in the scheme. These localities included Khyndai Lad, Assembly, Barik, Dhankheti, Fire Brigade-GS Road, Governor House, Ïew Mawlong, Laban, Jail Road, Lachumiere, Laitumkhrah Fire Brigade, Lumshatsngi, Malki, Motphran, Polo, Qualapatty, Quintton Road, Red Cross, Umsohsun, Wahthapbru, and Ward’s Lake.
The department also stated that in order to protect the rights of urban street vendors and regulate street vending activities, the Government of India enacted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. This act mandates every State to establish Town Vending Committees, identify and register street vendors, and demarcate vending and no-vending zones.
In accordance with the act, the Town Vending Committee (TVC) was established in 2022. The TVC is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and includes representatives from the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Police Department, Urban Affairs Department, municipal boards, local headmen, the State Urban Livelihood Mission, and hawkers’ associations. The TVC has conducted ten meetings to discuss the issues related to street vending.
“The Town Vending Committee (TVC) is in constant communication with the hawkers’ association and is taking every step to ensure this relocation is implemented in an orderly manner. The approved street vending plan will be placed in the public domain shortly,” the Urban Affairs Department said.
