Weekly markets set to be regularised

The civic body,however,has decided to let ‘heritage markets’ like the Sunday old books market in Daryaganj to function as they always have.

The idea behind the streamlining,say MCD officials is to regularise the number of such markets and vendors. “The biometric cards along with a digitised record management system will help in proper maintenance of all information related to the tehbazari (licence) holders and identify the traders who put up their stalls in the weekly bazaars without authorisation,” MCD councillor Meera Agarwal said.

Earlier this year,MCD had contacted the weekly bazaar associations and asked them for suggestions on alternate spots. “We had asked the associations to identify the markets that often cause major traffic congestion and to suggest possible alternate spots where these could be shifted,” Agarwal said.

Once the policy is in place,the vendors will not be allowed to sell expensive or electronic items. Sale of cut fruits,fruit juice and sugarcane juice will also be banned keeping in view the health concerns of citizens,officials said.

The civic agency also plans to engage private companies through tenders for preparing the biometric ID cards and for collecting the weekly fees. The data generated on the markets and the vendors will also be uploaded on MCD’s official website and the registeration,weekly fees and fines collected from any vendor will henceforth,be made against the unique ID number given to him.