Gurugram street vendors protest eviction drives, submit demands to civic body

A large group of street vendors and workers staged a protest outside the office of the Gurugram Municipal Commissioner on Thursday, opposing what they described as arbitrary eviction drives and bulldozer action that were destroying their livelihoods.

The demonstration was led by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the Rehri-Patri Mazdoor Union. Participants took out a procession through the city before gathering at the Municipal Commissioner's office, where they handed over a memorandum of demands to the Joint Commissioner.

Speaking at the protest, CITU State general secretary Jai Bhagwan and Rehri-Patri Mazdoor Union Gurugram president Ashok Singh, among others, argued that the government had no right to destroy the livelihoods of self-employed people when it had failed to provide adequate employment opportunities.

The union leaders referred to the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which permits street vendors to make up as much as 2.5 per cent of a city's population. They said an administrative survey had identified around 40,000 street vendors in Gurugram and that vending zones had been designated for them.

According to the unions, although many vendors had registered themselves, thousands of families continued to face eviction. Bulldozers were being used to remove carts and goods worth lakhs of rupees, they alleged, while existing vending zones were also being dismantled.

The leaders further alleged that the Town Vending Committee (TVC), constituted under the 2014 Act, had not met for nearly three years, despite a legal requirement that it meet at least once every three months. They said the Municipal Commissioner, who chairs the TVC, should convene the committee immediately to address the vendors' grievances.

The protesters demanded an end to arbitrary action against vendors, protection of existing vending zones until alternative arrangements were made, and the development of new vending zones. They also sought time-bound disposal of pending Certificates of Vending and renewals, an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the certification process, and protection of eligible vendors, including PM-SVANidhi beneficiaries.

The union further asked the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, Haryana Sehri Vikas Pradhikaran and other departments to comply with the Street Vendors Act and decisions of the TVC.

A meeting between union representatives and the Municipal Commissioner has been scheduled for September 16 to discuss the demands raised in the memorandum.