BMC’s anti-hawker drive: A temporary fix or is there a long-term solution?

Hawkers at the junction of St John Baptist Road, Bandra. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has undertaken an anti-hawker drive. But can it be sustained? In the absence of an effective hawker policy, action taken at select spots will be futile, feel activists, citizens and hawker associations. After the Bombay High Court remarked on the state of footpaths, the BMC started taking action against hawkers for the past four days.

"The civic body and police do not want to dry the cash flow coming through haftas from hawkers. That's why they do not take any firm steps to regularise hawkers and merely take action once in a while," said Dayashankar Sing, president of Azad Hawkers Union.

He said despite repeated follow-ups, the corporation is not ready to implement the Supreme Court decision and now showcasing that they are implementing the high court's direction. The court never forced the corporation to implement the hawkers' policy.

Not just hawkers, even citizens and activists do not trust the action taken by the BMC.

Vendors in Borivli West. Pic/Nimesh Dave

"It has been over a year since the BMC held the town vending committee (TVC) meeting in October 2023. The BMC had then assured us that they would hold an election among the licensed hawkers to select their representatives which ultimately led to the state government's hawker's policy as per the 2017 Bombay High Court order. But after that, there hasn't been any communication. Are they taking us for granted?" said Vidya Vaidya, an activist and member of TVC.

The BMC held a TVC meeting in the presence of 17 representatives including then BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and a decision was taken to go ahead with the elections despite hawker unions opposing the move to conduct elections among only 32,000-odd hawkers.

Vaidya added, "Till funds flow in all directions [to allow encroachment from hawkers], citizens will be neglected. Hawking has become a syndicated activity. On Bandra's Hill Road and Linking Road, not only four to five workers are employed by the hawkers but there are also guards on bikes to provide security to these encroachers. This is the result of BMC's negligence. Hawkers are not just encroaching footpaths but also creating menace in overall hygiene and security.

Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA), said, Will the BMC boast about taking action against vendors on footpaths when nothing substantial is seen on the ground? The footpaths of Chandivli farm road are still crowded with illegal hawkers. There will be no change until both the police and civic body are equally held accountable for the illegal cylinder stall problem. Penal action needs to be enforced. A few individuals control and operate the entire nexus with support from local politicians.

Santosh Gaikwad posted a message on X, asking why civilians were compelled to challenge the BMC to perform its basic duty. "Who is responsible for such irregularities? Why are the BMC and elected representatives not concerned about the inconvenience to civilians?" Another user, Thomas Abraham, expressed doubt that this operation will bring any permanent solution.

On the other hand, a BMC official said they will continue the drive against illegal hawkers and they are taking steps to implement the hawker policy. "We have already sent a letter to the labour commission for conducting elections. Even returning officers are appointed and there will be elections soon."

In 2014, following a Supreme Court order, Parliament enacted the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood & Regulation of Street Vending) Act. An essential component of this Act is the TVC, which oversees the issuance of licences to hawkers, manages pitches and regulates street vending in the city.

In the 1970s, approximately 14,970 hawkers were licensed. When the BMC began a survey in 2016, they identified and distributed forms to 128,000 hawkers, with 99,435 submitting applications along with the required documents. Due to the state government's requirement for domicile certificates, only 15,361 hawkers were deemed eligible in 2019. However, with the relaxation of the domicile rule, the BMC has since added another 2,000 hawkers to the list.

15,361
No. of hawkers that were deemed eligible in 2019