BMC should expedite process of regularising hawkers: Union

Akhil Bharatiya Shramik Ekta Union, a newly-formed body of hawkers, Wednesday said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) should expedite the process of regularising street vendors in the city.

In a press conference held here, president of the union, Mohan Devendra, also alleged that civic officials have appointed collection agents across the city to collect'hafta' (bribe) from hawkers.

"Following the directives of the court, the BMC set up a town vending committee to survey street vendors and to recommend areas for non-hawking or hawking zones. The civic body collected Rs 100 from each hawker for the purpose of verification, but has not done much so far, due to which the future of 2.5 lakh hawkers is uncertain," he said.

"Although there are over 2.5 lakh hawkers in the city, the BMC distributed only 1.25 lakh forms. Only 99,435 forms have been filled so far and only 15,000 hawkers could be verified. This unprofessional attitude of the BMC has put the livelihoods of over 2 lakh hawkers at risk," he added.

When contacted, a senior official declined to comment on the allegation of bribery, but said that the administration was regularising the hawkers as per the laid-down procedures. The hawkers are required to have domicile certificate for that, he said.

"Those making allegations against BMC, are perhaps those who may not have fulfilled the criteria," official said.