SHILLONG, SEP 24: The Meghalaya Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) has strongly criticized the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) for its alleged ‘deliberate inefficiency’ in issuing certificates of vending (CoVs) to hawkers in the Khyndailad area, resulting in significant delays.

TUR leader Angela Rangad while speaking on behalf of the MGSPHSVA told reporters on Wednesday that many hawkers have not received their CoV, which has affected their livelihoods for over two and a half months.

She also questioned the arbitrary actions of the authorities, citing instances of people who were not surveyed being recommended for CoV, while genuine hawkers who were surveyed were not recommended.

Rangad also pointed out errors in the list of recommended hawkers, including people who were marked absent despite being present, and those who were marked not surveyed despite being surveyed. This list was generated in the meeting of the sub-committee constituted by the Provisional Town Vending Committee (PTVC) held on August 22.

“How can we allow this deliberate incompetence?” she asked.

The TUR leader also alleged corruption in the system, citing instances of relatives of office bearers of another association being recommended for CoV despite not being surveyed.

“…people who have never been vending in their lives, we noticed that there were five-six names who were relatives of an office bearers of other organization, they were featured there. When did they apply and why were they even considered in the recommended list as they have never even been surveyed. And here are genuine hawkers, who have been captured in the survey, who have not been given CoV, some of them still find their names in the not-recommended list and those who are in the recommended list also till today after verified and given the list today here have not been given the CoV,” she said adding “I will tell you further and give you statistic that there are 17 people who have been recommended, who are not surveyed. Six of these are  people whose names have come after the list was published. Now one of these supposedly has even start sitting there with a CoV whereas many have not got.”

“So the question arises why is there this arbitrary actions? Who is responsible? Doesn’t this point to corruption?”

The association has also emphasized that the lack of CoV has caused significant distress to hawkers, who have seen their sales decline and are struggling to make ends meet.

Rangad also said that the one-time financial assistance of Rs 10,000 extended by the state government to the hawkers especially to those who have not got the CoV, is not going to be enough to be able to tied over all the distress that they have faced.

She quoted one hawker saying that she had to pull her daughter out of college (who had enrolled for B.Sc) due to lack of funds for admission fees.

The association demanded that the authorities take immediate action to address these issues and ensure that hawkers receive their CoV in a transparent and accountable manner.

They also called for better facilities for hawkers, including signage to direct tourists and customers to the hawkers’ market.

“The sales have gone down so much and the government has not even bothered to put up a signage which properly shows where the hawkers market is. We see all these fancy screens all around town I don’t know what these screens are trying to announce even in Khyndailad, a simple announcement where the hawker market is will also direct the tourists and other people there, even simple thing like that they have not done,” Rangad said.

The association highlighted concerns about the relocation of hawkers, citing a clause in the law that requires relocation to a place that matches their income. They questioned whether the current relocation sites meet this requirement, given that many hawkers have reported subpar sales for months.

“There is a clause as per law that says that you need to relocate them to a place that matches their income. It has to be better or at least it has to be at par with what they earned before. Now we know it is sub par for months. So the question is what are we going to do,” Rangad stated.

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