Shillong, Aug 29: The Meghalaya High Court has directed the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) to conduct a thorough survey and submit an inventory of all the street vendors operating at the Laitumkhrah within three weeks and ensure not a single additional vendor is allowed to trade in that area.
The court’s direction came after the board filed a report revealing that a large number of hawkers in the area do not possess vending licenses.
The Shillong Municipal Board’s report found that 122 vendors were operating in the Laitumkhrah area without licenses. Out of these, 22 vendors were considered “eligible under the provisions of the scheme.”
The board also noted that 48 additional vendors claimed to be street vendors.
“In those circumstances, more concerted action is called for from the Shillong Municipal Board. We direct as follows: the Board shall within three weeks from date make a thorough survey of the Laitumkhrah area and make an inventory of all the street vendors operating thereat with full details with regard to their names, the merchandise sold and the area occupied by each, and the period for which such occupation is continuing and so on,” the division bench comprising of Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh said in its order passed on Friday after hearing an application filed by the Seng Samla of Laitumkhrah.
“The Board with the help of the administration including the local police will ensure that till further orders, not a single additional vendor is allowed to trade in that area . To prevent such act, a strict vigil has to be maintained. The Board will consider all pending applications before it for grant of certificate of vending/vending licences and consider those applications in accordance with law within eight weeks from date. This would include the 22 vendors whom the Board considers as “eligible under the provisions of the scheme” provided a proper application in accordance with law has been made by each of them,” it said while further directing that “The Board may also give opportunity to those vendors who are “eligible” but have not made applications or who do not have licences to apply for them and shall process the same in accordance with law.”
The SMB along with the administration are also directed to identify a suitable place for relocation of licensed vendors.
The bench further directed the State and the SMB to file joint or independent reports before the returnable date of the public interest litigation (PIL). The PIL has been made returnable eight weeks hence.
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