New Delhi, Nov 8 (KNN) After the street vendors held several demonstration under the leadership of National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), finally the Urban Development Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi issued a notice inviting bids for the conducting Demand Survey and MIS entry of Vendors/Hawkers/Weekly Markets in the zone in Delhi on October 31.

''The Delhi Government has finally moved a step ahead in ensuring that the vendors be regularised in the capital city. It was a long wait but we’re positive that the provisions of the Street Vendors Act, 2014 will be abided by during the entire process,'' said Arbind Singh, National Coordinator of NASVI.

“The Delhi Government established 29 TVCs in order to manage the affairs of the vendors and it should be a combination of the TVCs and Street Vendor Organizations heading this very process,” he added.

The NASVI president further said that it is more reliable and accountable aloof from political manipulations and corruption that may stem if external agencies are engaged in the process and added ''the TVCs and the Street Vendor Organisations will be better able to identify the areas and the vendors with a very little chance of manipulation in the process.''

''NASVI is also well-versed with the process of conducting vendor surveys with prior experiences in Bihar and Dehradun. The timeline issued for the completion of the survey is a period of 3 months,'' he asserted.

However, NASVI feared that external agencies will not be able to cover the entire city in such a short time leading to controversies and conflicts which will further delay the implementation process.

Later, Singh requested to authorities that until the completion of the survey- do not evict the vendors until the certificate of vending is issued to all as stipulated under Section 3(3) of the Act. The Act provides a statutory guarantee against eviction until the mechanisms are setup to ensure a proper survey and the allotment of licenses to the street vendors.

''The non-observance of the Act has led to a delay of 5 years in executing the survey of the vendors which was supposed to be their inherent right. But better late than never, we want to see the aftermath and the positive impact it will have on the status of the street vendors,'' he concluded.

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