- The act aims to safeguard the rights of Street Vendors and regulate their activities in urban areas.
- There are more than 50 Lakhs Street Vendors in India, with the most from Uttar Pradesh (~8.5 Lakhs)
- Key Provisions of the Act
- Town Vending Committees (TVC) are to be established in each Local Authority.
- Survey of the Street Vendors, at least once in every five years.
- Enables the issuance of Certificate of Vending to the identified vendors.
- A Ceiling limit of 2.5% of the population in a respective area is set for accommodating the vendors.
- Challenges in functioning of the act
- Administrative: Increase in harassment and evictions of Street Vendors despite the emphasis on regulating the Street vendors.
- Governance: Exclusion of Street vendors as Stakeholders in City planning and they are not consulted in formulation of the street vending plan.
- Societal: Social stigma around the street vendors as obstacles to urban development.
- Way Forward
- Sensitize police and local body officials to avoid excessive actions.
- Ensuring adequate representation and integration of Street vending activities in Urban planning.
- Revision of the ceiling on number of vendors in consonance with the population of the city.