Shillong, Nov 26: The state government has decided to relocate hawkers to designated vending spaces in Khyndailad and Civil Hospital areas under the first phase.

This decision was made jointly at a meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Urban Affairs, alongside the Tourism Minister, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Minister, and representatives from the Health and Family Welfare Department, Home Department, Urban Affairs Department, Public Works Department, and other key departments and stakeholders.

The decision was also taken in accordance with the directive of the Meghalaya High Court, which had ordered the Urban Affairs Department to constitute a committee to identify vending spaces for street vendors.

In a statement issued by the Additional Secretary of Urban Affairs on Tuesday, it was mentioned: “It was decided that in the first phase, hawkers would be relocated to designated vending spaces in the Khyndailad and Civil Hospital areas.”

“The department expects to notify the vending zones and communicate this information to eligible hawkers at the earliest. Following this, hawkers will be given 30 days to relocate after the issuance of certificates, as per the scheme,” the statement added.

“The Town Vending Committee (TVC) is in constant communication with the hawkers’ association and is taking every step to ensure that this relocation is implemented in an orderly manner. The approved street vending plan will be placed in the public domain shortly,” it continued.

To protect the rights of urban street vendors and regulate street vending activities, the Government of India enacted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. This act mandates that every state establish Town Vending Committees, identify and register street vendors, and demarcate vending and non-vending zones.

In compliance with the Act, the Town Vending Committee (TVC) was established in 2022. The TVC is chaired by the CEO of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and includes representatives from the Deputy Commissioner’s office, the police department, the urban department, municipal boards, local headmen, the State Urban Livelihood Mission, and hawkers’ associations. The TVC has held 10 meetings to discuss street vending-related issues.

To streamline the process of surveying and identifying eligible street vendors, the state formulated the Meghalaya Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme in 2023.

The scheme outlines the principles for identifying vending zones and how they shall be notified. It also details the process for issuing Certificates of Vending (CoV) to eligible street vendors.

Additionally, the scheme provides guiding principles for selecting eligible vendors and vending zones and outlines the process for their relocation to the notified vending zones. Surveys were conducted in 22 localities between December 2023 and January 2024, following the guidelines set in the scheme.

These localities included: Khyndailad, Assembly, Barik, Dhankheti, Firebridge, GS Road, Governor, IewMawlong, Laban, Jail Road, Lachumiere, Laitumkhrah Firebrigade, Lumshatsngi, Malki, Motphran, Polo, Qualapatty, Quintton Road, Red Cross, Umsohsun, Wahthapbru, and Wards Lake.

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