Sonia urged to ensure passage of Street Vendors’ Bill

[Amit Chandra]

Sonia urged to ensure passage of Street Vendors’ Bill 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 28
On the Street Vendors’ (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, the section concerned is not ready to wait anymore and has urged the Central government to pass the Bill during this session to protect the rights of lakhs of hawkers across the country.

In this regard, a collective of organisations National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) today wrote to the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, urging her to ensure the immediate passage of the Bill in this session.

To push for the same, the national Capital yesterday saw thousands of hawkers from as many as 25 states under the banner of National Hawkers Federation (NHF) gathering at Jantar Mantar from where they later carried out a rally towards Parliament. Later a team of representatives from them, who submitted a memorandum of demands to the government, was assured by the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Dr Girija Vyas that the Bill would be passed in September this session.

“We had been pushing for this Bill for a long time and putting pressure that the government should constitute a Central task Force for the implementation of the Bill. We have demanded that hawkers should be allowed to benefit under ESI services and they should also be given houses under RAY and JNNURM. We submitted a memorandum to Girija Vyas who told us that it would be passed on September 3,” said Shaffique Ahmad of NHF.

NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said that during the last parliamentary session, the street vendors had hoped that the Bill would get passed, but it could not.

“Last month, we also called on the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Dr. Girija Vyas and urged her to take initiatives to ensure that the Bill gets passed in the monsoon session. This month, a large number of street vendors also urged the UPA chairperson to ensure the passage of the Bill for their livelihood,” he said.

According to activists, once legalised and protected though an inclusive Central legislation, the street vendors also would be able to contribute more to the city economy.

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Amit Chandra

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