Survey on street vendor scheme misses deadline

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 22

Noida-based REPL Consultant Company, which has been hired by the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) to do the survey of the street vendor scheme in the city, has failed to complete its work before the deadline which was January 31. However, the MCB has extended the deadline to February 28.

After the completion of the survey, the MCB would provide permanent space to street vendors in the city under the scheme. The civic body will also issue licences to them.

The MCB has started its work to allot a site to the vendors, following the order of the Supreme Court, under the Street Vendor Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vendor Act, 2014.

Under this scheme, the roadside vendors will be given identity cards and space.

Nobody will issue challan to them for encroaching land. They will also be able get benefits of government schemes.

The survey team is still in the process of checking the vendors and their timings, after which it will file its report.

In the first phase of the scheme, the exact number of street vendors will be counted and licences will be issued to them.

In the second phase, sites in the market will be selected and allotted to them for a specific period of time.

Thereafter, the site will be allotted to other vendors so that everyone gets a chance.

With the implementation of the scheme, the traffic problem is likely to be addressed to some extent as a large number of street vendors are seen on footpaths and along main roads in the city.

The roads that are affected due to encroachments by vendors are Ajit road, Mall Road, Power House road, Railway Station road, Sirki Bazaar and Bibi Wala road among other stretches.

At many places, street vendors have encroached on parking areas, due to which people face problems.

A senior MCB official said as the company had not been able to complete its work in time, the deadline has been extended.