Protecting the Livelihood Rights of Street Vendors – Street Vendors Act of 2014

The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors estimates the number of street vendors, and 2.5% of a city’s population are street sellers. However, street vending is characterised by unpredictability, extortion, and tax regulation because it employs such a large populace.

The Street Vendors Act 2014 sought to address these issues with a comprehensive framework. Street vending accounts for a significant portion of urban areas’ informal economy. Since the beginning of time, India has had a street vendor industry.

A person who sells services or goods to the general public on the street does not have a permanent built-up structure. Street vendors may be mobile, i.e., they move from place to place carrying their items on push carts, in cycles, or baskets on their heads, or they may be stationary, i.e., they occupy space on sidewalks or other public/private areas. They may also sell their wares in moving buses or trains.

Street Vendors Act 2014

On August 27th 2014, an overwhelming majority passed the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act in the Lok Sabha – with 387 Members of Parliament voting in favour of the legislation and only two members voting against it. The bill was passed on January 1st 2014, without any opposition in the Rajya Sabha and received the President’s assent on September 4th, 2014.

The Act will come into force within six months from the date of consent by the President or such other date as may be announced by the Central Government. On 4th march 2014, Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave his consent to the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2014.

The bill protects the livelihoods of thousands of street vendors who have long been exploited by the State and its municipal authorities with no legal means to redress their grievances.

The Indian government passed the Street Vendors Act 2014 to ensure that the urban poor can safely conduct their street vending business and continue to earn their livelihood through this activity. This Act protects the rights of street vendors and attempts to regulate street vending in urban areas of India.

Background of the Act

India began the liberalisation era in the 1990s, and urbanisation and accompanying problems grew rapidly. India’s major cities have begun to experience issues like congestion, a lack of legitimate employment possibilities, and expanding informal economies.

Like in other nations, the desire to create world-class cities led to widespread evictions of street vendors, and numerous tiny street vendor organisations developed in opposition to these evictions.

At the time, globalisation and urbanisation had exacerbated city-level conflicts between vendors and local authorities worldwide, and street vendors began to organise internationally. In November 1995, representatives of street vendors from 11 cities across the world held the inaugural meeting of the International Alliance of Street Vendors in Bellagio, Italy.

The Bellagio International Declaration of Street Vendors, signed by representatives at that meeting, envisaged the formulation of a National Policy for hawkers and vendors to improve their standard of living by giving them a legal status through licensing.

Following the Bellagio Conference in September 1998, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) was formed to bring the struggles of street vendors to the national stage. Over the years, NASVI has worked closely with NGOs like SEWA, the National Hawkers Federation, and others to foster an atmosphere that will support the advancement of street vendors’ rights in India.

Even though India had signed the Bellagio declaration, it wasn’t until 2001—under intense pressure from organisations in the civil society like NASVI and Sewa—that the government decided to create a Task Force to investigate the problems and develop a suitable policy. This work resulted in the introduction of a National Policy in 2004.

Scope of Street Vendors Act

Street vendor act 2014 is a law that governs the sale of goods on the streets and pavements. This law was introduced to control the sale of goods by street vendors. The street vendor act 2014 has been implemented in all cities and towns throughout India. It is a legal document that defines the street vendors’ rights and duties.

The street vendor act provides licences, permits, renewal and cancellation of licences, safety measures for street vendors, labour laws, etc. The main aim behind this law is to protect the lives and properties of pedestrians on footpaths and roads and traffic police personnel working with pedestrians at busy places like markets and highways.

Key Features of the Act

Right to Vend

Sec 12-16 of Chapter III highlight that street vendors have an absolute right to carry on street vending business. It emphasises the legality and legitimacy of street vending as a profession, and a certificate of vending will be binding documental proof of the same.

Town Vending Committee

The Town Vending Committee (hereafter TVC) is the pivotal element of this Act mentioned in Sections 22-26 of Chapter VII.

The Town Vending Committee is a comprehensive committee of government officials, municipal officers, street vendors, bankers, traffic police, NGOs, RWAs etc., to consider the opinion of all stakeholders within the ambit of street vending.

The Town Vending Committee has to hold regular meetings and carry out functions relevant to vendors.

Prevention of Harassment

According to Chapter VII of the Act, no police officer or local government official may stop vendors from exercising their right to sell goods as long as they abide by the terms and conditions of the selling certificate. Since harassment is the main issue street vendors deal with, this Act clause may be the most pertinent.

Street Vending committee

According to the Act, a street Vending Committee must represent 40% of street vendors through an electoral process.

For electing the street vendors, there needs to be an election held within the vending zone, and a voter’s list of street vendors needs to be created to conduct an election.

For a vendor list to be created, there needs to be a survey conducted. But according to the Street Vendors Act 2014, the Town Vending Committee needs to conduct a survey of the Street Vendors. To grant vendors vending certificates, the TVC must survey them, but an initial survey is required for the TVC to be formed. It is severely hampering the Act’s execution. All tasks that require performing in the field fall under the purview of the Town Vending Committee.

The First Schedule of the Act specifies the plan for street vending, which involves vending and non-vending zones, civic amenities, certificates of vending, surveying, and vendors’ rights specific to that local municipal corporation.

These are the provisions that will start the implementation of the Act. With the Town vending Committee, these provisions can be converted into action, and with these provisions being converted into action, the situation of the vendors will remain stable.

Conclusion

To efficiently respond to the current COVID-19 pandemic, every State must notify certain rules and schemes under the Act. It is important to ensure the formation of TVCs under each local authority for different areas of the State. The TVCs can play an active role in ensuring vendors’ proper identification and disbursement of the relief packages.

The states that have previously formed the TVCs face an advantage as it is easier to identify, contact and support vendors and even utilise their services to ensure a continuous supply of essential goods during hard times or any shortage.

Ensuring proper legal recognition of vendors can provide them with much-needed socio-economic security and prevent continuous harassment. It can also ensure that the urban poor can access cheaper goods and allow local bodies to increase their revenue by collecting taxes through proper channels.