The fun of shopping in Chandigarh is not just the showrooms flaunting world-class brands, but also the street jewellery, accessories and such odd stuff we get from from vendors sitting on pavements. But, all this is going to be the thing of the past.
Sector 17, 19 and 22 are NO VENDING ZONES. To add to it, sectors 1 to 6, where the top brass of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana stay, which also include the iconic Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden, have also been recommended as no vending zones.
The UT administration has identified 58 sites across the cities where street vendors would be allowed to ply their wares.
Under the Street Vendors Act, 2014, 21,621 vendors were identified by Haryana Nav Yuvak Kala Sangam, the agency tasked to conduct the survey. MC Chandigarh will now conduct joint inspection with chief architect’s office before issuing license. “The no vending zones have been earmarked keeping in mind the heritage,” said additional Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Uma Shankar Gupta.
The 58 vending zones include sectors 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 36, 38, 54, 46. The engineering wing would also assist the MC and the office of the chief architect.
To safeguard street vendors from exploitation and registering and rehabilitating, the survey began in July 2016 under Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The act demands proper rationing of urban streets and spaces. Before the survey, the MC announced that it would not displace any street vendor because of which vendors came up at Sector 17 plaza as well. The MC had proposed two categories of vendors – service providers and non-service providers. The vendors’ fees were also proposed to vary area-wise and the type of service they provided.
VENDING FEE
The vendors will have to pay Rs 2,000 per month as vending fee for non-essential service providers, whereas essential service providers like tea stall, barber, cycle repair shops have to pay Rs 1,500 per month as vending fee. However, due to a delay in making the vending zones, licences could not be given.
Source: The Indian Express
Image Credits: Google Images
