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Context: The Street Vendors Act of 2014, despite its progressive provisions, experiences implementation issues due to administrative, governance, and sociocultural barriers.

About Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014

• The Act aims to regulate hawking by street vendors in public spaces while also protecting street vendors' rights and livelihoods.
• The Act was passed to address the issues that street sellers experience, including harassment, evictions, and a lack of social security, while also acknowledging their contributions to metropolitan economies and culture.

Key Provisions of the Act

Town Vending Committee (TVC) and Vendor Survey

• The Act mandates the formation of Town Vending Committees responsible for conducting surveys of all street vendors within their jurisdiction every five years. This survey is crucial for identifying and registering street vendors.
• Street vendors cannot be evicted until this survey is completed, and a certificate of vending is issued to eligible vendors.

Designated Vending Zones

• All registered street vendors are to be accommodated in designated vending zones. If space is limited, allocation of space is to be done through a lottery system.
• Vendors who cannot be accommodated in the same vending zone should be allocated space in adjoining vending zones.

Certificate of Vending

• Street vendors above the age of fourteen can obtain a certificate of vending, provided they meet specific conditions:
  • Undertake to carry out the vending business by themselves or with family members.
  • Demonstrate that vending is their primary means of livelihood.
  • Agree not to transfer the certificate, except in case of death or permanent disability (where it can be transferred to a family member).
• Breach of certificate conditions can lead to cancellation.

No-Vending Zones

• Vending activities are prohibited in designated no-vending zones.
• If an area is declared a no-vending zone, vendors must be relocated to another area with at least 30 days' notice. Failure to vacate can result in penalties.

Dispute Resolution

• A dispute resolution body, chaired by a civil judge or judicial magistrate, is established to address conflicts related to street vending.

Penalties

• Vendors operating without a certificate or violating certificate conditions can be fined up to two thousand rupees.
• Failure to relocate from no-vending zones may result in penalties of up to two hundred fifty rupees per day.

Implementation Challenges

• Administrative Difficulties: Bureaucratic processes, a lack of awareness among authorities, and institutionalised corruption have hampered the proper registration and protection of street vendors.
• Inadequate Vending Zones: Lacks of vending zones and insufficient infrastructure in specified zones have resulted in overcrowding and competitiveness among merchants.
• Enforcement Issues: The enforcement of no-vending zones and penalties has been uneven resulting in ongoing harassment and evictions of street vendors.
• Capacity Building: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) often lack the resources and capacity to fully execute the Act, such as conducting surveys and developing conflict resolution processes.

Strategies for Improvement

• Awareness Campaigns: Organising awareness programmes for street vendors, local governments, and the general public to improve understanding of the Act's provisions and street vendors' rights.
• Capacity Building: Providing training and resources to Urban Local Bodies, to improve their abilities to conduct surveys, set up vending zones and enforce laws.
• Community Engagement: Encourage active participation of street vendor groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the implementation process, including representation on Town Vending Committees.
• Policy Alignment: Integrating the Street Vendors Act into larger urban development plans and schemes to ensure uniformity and support for street vendors' rights and livelihoods.
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Establishing comprehensive monitoring tools to measure progress, identify challenges, and modify strategies for execution in response to stakeholder feedback.

PM SVANidhi ●Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi, is a scheme launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in June 2020 with the aim of providing support to street vendors whose livelihoods were adversely affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. ●The scheme focuses on offering affordable working capital loans to street vendors to help them restart their businesses and recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic. ● Key Features of PM SVANidhi: ○Street vendors can avail collateral-free working capital loans of up to ₹10,000. ○The loans are repayable in monthly instalments over a term of one year. ○Beneficiaries who repay their loans timely or early are eligible for an interest subsidy at a rate of 7% per annum.  ○The interest subsidy amount is credited directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on a quarterly basis. ○An enhanced loan amount of up to ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 is available on subsequent loans upon timely repayment of earlier loans. ●A vendor is defined as any person engaged in vending articles, goods, wares, food items, or merchandise of daily use, or offering services to the public on streets, footpaths, pavements, etc. ●To be eligible for the loan, a vendor must possess a Certificate of Vending or Identity Card issued by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

Conclusion

• The Street Vendors Act is an important step towards formalising and preserving the livelihoods of street vendors in India. However, effective implementation requires collaborative efforts to overcome administrative, infrastructure, and governance issues. By adopting a comprehensive strategy that combines policy adjustments, capacity-building initiatives, and community engagement, India can improve the lives and working conditions of millions of street vendors across the country.

Must Read Articles:

PM SVANidhi

Source:

The Hindu

Wikipedia

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Many government initiatives aim to formalize street vending. However, some argue that these initiatives, with stricter regulations and fees, could push vendors further into informality or even out of business altogether. How can policymakers strike a balance between formalizing the sector and ensuring the livelihoods of street vendors?