Maken urges LG to stop eviction of street vendors

A delegation led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Ajay Maken on Friday met Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal and urged him not to evict any more street vendors in the city.

Maken proposed to the Lt. Governor that Rs 600 crore could be collected in taxes by giving vending licence to over five lakh street vendors in the city, an official statement said.

The DPCC President alleged that the Delhi government was harassing street vendors and corruption running into crores of rupees was taking place in the name of eviction.

The delegation, which included members of the National Association of Street Vendors of India, Street Vendors Associations of Delhi and senior Congress leaders, also submitted a memorandum to the Lt. Governor on "harassment" being faced by the street vendors.

Maken requested Baijal to reinstate nearly 15,000 street vendors, who had been evicted from 17 different areas of Delhi in June and urged him to intervene in the eviction process to save the livelihood of lakhs of street vendors.

The senior Congress leader later said the Lt. Governor had assured that he would take appropriate action in the matter.

--IANS

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