Hawkers will not be allowed to set up stalls on roads surrounding the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, but those with stalls on the pavements won’t have to move, the town vending committee of the city decided on Tuesday.
The decision will not impact hawkers occupying pavements but they have to remain within one-third of the width of the sidewalks, KMC sources said.
The KMC headquarters has SN Banerjee Road to its north, Charlie Chaplin Square to its south, Bertram Street to its west and Hogg Street to its east.
“We have decided to not allow hawkers on the roads surrounding the headquarters. We will inform police about this soon,” said Debashis Kumar, a mayoral council member of the KMC who handles hawker-related issues.
Kumar is also co-chairperson of the town vending committee of Kolkata.
The town vending committee has been empowered by The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, to take all decisions regarding hawkers. Members of the committee include hawkers, government officials, cops, shop owners and NGO representatives, among others.
A KMC official clarified that the decision won’t impact hawkers who sell their stuff on pavements as long as they abide by the “one-third” rule.
Hawkers occupy portions of Charlie Chaplin Square and Hogg Street from late afternoon every day.
The street vending rules prepared by the state government do not allow hawkers to sit on roads. “Hawkers should not be allowed to occupy roads anywhere in Kolkata. No hawker will be allowed to sit on the roads around the civic headquarters,” said a hawker leader who is also a member of tthe town vending committee.
It was not clear whether the decision will be implemented immediately or after the Lok Sabha elections.
The committee on Tuesday avoided taking a decision on what to do with hawkers who set up stalls on roads in the New Market area, sources said.
