No fixed address

The Street Vendors Protection and Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Bill could shift the fundamentals for those who make a living on the street by their own enterprise,nimbly filling other citizens needs. From scrap dealers and vegetable sellers and dhobis,to those who sell phone chargers,mosquito zappers,a cooling drink or slice of coconut street vendors provide the abundance of informal services that define a city. And yet,given the press on urban land and their individual powerlessness,street vendors live a precarious life,often harassed and evicted. Their informal status in the eyes of the state renders them vulnerable to extortion. Municipal and police authorities accuse them of holding up traffic at thoroughfares and crossings.

In recent years,there have been several attempts to tilt such policy assumptions about encroachment,and recognise street vendors as micro-entrepreneurs and service providers whose dues as citizens must be balanced with those of other planning priorities like traffic management,commercial zoning,etc. After a draft policy in 2004,a model bill and national policy on street vendors were announced in 2009,which suggested that states set up town vending committees to register vendors,and provide some social security and civic services. It also recommended specialised zoning for stationary vendors,while allowing space for natural markets where sellers spontaneously converge at certain times and places,anticipating demand.

However,this policy has remained a paper promise,blithely ignored by most states. In order for it to be implemented,it needs to be made compatible with the Indian Penal Code,and various municipal and police laws have to be amended to adopt this perspective. And so,instead of a fuzzy take-it-or-leave-it policy for the states,the Supreme Court and the National Advisory Council argued for a Central law. This new bill aims to puts citizens,rather than just spatial concerns,at the heart of urban planning.