New Delhi Jan 20 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the Delhi Police and North Delhi Municipal Corporation NrDMC to conduct drives for removing all unauthorised hawkers and vendors from no-hawking zones of Chandni Chowk and Subhash Marg hereA bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singhs order came after perusing several photographs filed by Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal showing illegal and unauthorised hawking activities being carried out in Chandni Chowk and Subhash MargThe court asked the SHO of Kotwali Police Station and the Deputy Commissioner of NrDMC to conduct the drives and file an action taken report within a weekThe court was hearing a plea by Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal represented through senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli and lawyer Mohit Mudgal seeking direction to the authorities to remove illegal hawkers and vendors from the no-hawking and no-squatting area in Chandni Chowk which has recently undergone redevelopmentThe high court had earlier said that anybody who was encroaching upon public space must be removed and it cannot be permitted that the whole pavements in markets are covered with encroachment leaving no space for people to walkIt had also asked the municipal corporation to prepare a street vending plan They cant be permitted that the whole pavement is covered with encroachers and making it impossible for people to walk Please please for Gods sake do the planning and do not make communications at the last moment the high court had earlier said adding that NrDMC does not seem in any urgency to formulate a plan so that hawking activity could be organisedIt had also directed the Delhi Police to positively take steps on the installation of CCTV cameras at Chandni Chowk area before February 28 failing which the Commissioner of Delhi Police shall remain present before itIt had said it was trying to fill up a void which is there in the law Street Vendors Act and added that it does not want all these poor people to be driven away but things have to be done properly with a planThe court had directed that experts be nominated from Shahjanabad Redevelopment Corporation Delhi School of Planning and IIT Delhi immediately without any delay in the matter relating to the preparation of the street vending planIt had also asked the Delhi Police to take steps for the removal of encroachers and illegal vendors from the area and directed the police and North MCD to continue with their anti-encroachment driveRalli had submitted that despite repeated directions of the court Delhi Police has not yet installed 330 CCTV cameras in the area to check encroachment in the area and pathways and this has been the casual approach of the authoritiesThe court had earlier observed that there was no executive or political will to remove illegal hawkers and vendors from streets and barring Lutyens Delhi there was no place in the city that was clear from unauthorised squatters PTI SKV SKV RKS RKS

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI What courts do is a thankless job they only earn ire of the populist the Delhi High Court Wednesday observed while hearing a batch of pleas relating to illegal squatting and vending activities in the national capitalA bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh made the observation when the counsel representing New Delhi Traders Association was stressing that even the earlier judgements of the apex court stated that vendors do not have the absolute right and they have to be balanced with others rights The counsel was relying on various judicial decisions in support of his plea challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act Reacting to the observation of the bench senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli appearing for the association said If the court is made to feel like that then where we are proceeding to Be it any community from the smallest to the biggest whenever anything happening is unfair everyone comes before your lordship If your lordship is not going to come up if this activity is not stopped what kind of system we are going to have he submittedThe court listed the matter for further hearing on December 8The court is seized off a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act its implementation certain provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019 and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkers The court had earlier observed we cant let the city go to the dogs we are here to protect the rule of lawIt had expressed concern over the rising number of street vendors in the city in which the majority of them are sitting illegally PTI SKV RKS RKS

New Delhi Nov 17 PTI We cant let the city go to the dogs we are here to protect the rule of law the Delhi High Court said on Wednesday expressing concern over rising number of street vendors majority of them sitting illegally in the national capitalThe high court said the area of Delhi is constant and it is bursting at the seams while the population keeps on increasing and asked how many vendors the authorities are going to permitWhat is troubling us today and what is a cause of concern for us is that what is the number of street vendors Your population may keep on rising but the area Delhi has is a constant So how many vendors are you going to be permitting What are the zones Where all they will be It is bursting at the seams a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh saidThe bench added Please understand for a place where there are 120 odd tehbazaari right holders there are about 4000 vendors So its bursting Where do people walk We dont want another Lajpat Nagar We dont want another Nehru Place That exercise has to be today what is the plan What is the number The court issued notices and sought responses of the Delhi government North Delhi Municipal Corporation NrDMC and Town Vending Committee TVC North DMC Zone on plea by Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal seeking direction to strike down various provisions of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019Senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli and lawyer Mohit Mudgal representing the petitioner association said the scheme is arbitrary discriminatory illegal and contrary to the Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulations of Street Vending Act 2021 and Rules 2017The court directed the authorities to file their replies within two weeks and said the Delhi government shall give justification for constitution of the current TVC for City-SP Zone and also the background of NGO members who have been included in the TVC as to the field in which they are working and the causes taken up by the NGOsIt also called for relevant records of the authorities and listed the matter for further hearing on December 8When senior advocate Rahul Mehra urged the court to keep its hands away for three months and said things will be done the bench shot back forget about three months three months is too long not even a single day We have not said anything or passed any order staying actions of TVC We are very clear Mr Mehra we cant let the city go to the dogs We are here to protect the rule of law Rule of law does not mean you only look at one constituency and say that look their rights are there they need to be protected Vendors have a right but no right is absolute the bench saidIt further said that the court has always been saying that it recognises vendors and hawkers as essential part of the economic systemBut we are shocked We are flooded with petitions by vendors it saidThe bench gave example of Connaught Place and said it is a no hawking and no vending zone but the vendors there are increasing day by day and when it a no hawking and no vending zone why should they in the first place be permitted there When you permit them you permit them in such an unregulated way that today that market has lost its character People pay lakhs of rent per month They say they made a mistake by abiding law as not there are 10 vendors sitting outside shops and customers cannot enter the shop because there is a problem of hygiene and law and order The market has lost its character You should see it from the shopkeepers perspective also it saidWhen Mehra said why the court thinks that the government is not looking from the traders point of view the bench said because proof of the pudding is in eatingMehra said that in next 60 days they will have a solution to the problem and that it was pending for last 6 years but the situation remained the sameThe bench said Whenever you find a picture of Delhi iconic buildings and iconic places you either find CP or Qutub Minar Thats how you depict Delhi And very conveniently you dont even think it necessary for having a representative of CP associations in the TVC That is why we take your assurances with a pinch of salt The court is seized of a batch of petitions challenging the validity of Street Vendors Act its implementation certain provisions of the scheme and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkers PTI SKV SA

New Delhi Oct 29 PTI No right is absolute and it needs to be balanced with others rights the Delhi High Court observed Saturday saying street vendors do have a fundamental right but when they use a public way they impinge on someone elses right to walkHearing a batch of petitions on the Street Vendors Act 2014 a bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said hawkers should get proper places to sit and proper kiosks in every marketThey should have a proper licence Then you dont have to pay hafta to the police the court saidThe court asked what was the bottleneck in the implementation of the Act What is the hesitation for the last seven years The bench said the authorities should come out with the Street Vending plan taking into consideration aspects like safety security hygiene roads etcThe authorities need to have a plan every five years but unfortunately there is no plan for now it saidPeople who have been squatting should be required to disclose their assets and income Those selling on streets have fundamental rights but no right is absolute Even if he is an old squatter he should give way so that the old site is allotted fairly When you want to use a public way or a street you are impinging on somebody elses right to walkIt cannot be like no one can touch you There has to be some application of mind that what can be allowed You have to see the density of the area how many vends can be allowed the bench saidThe court commenced hearing arguments on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the Street Vendors Act its implementation certain provisions of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019 and other connected issues raised by various market associations and vendors and hawkersSenior advocate Sanjeev Ralli appearing for New Delhi Traders Association which represents shop owners and operators in the Connaught Place CP area explained to the bench previous judgements on the issue and how the things have proceeded before the courtsRalli along with advocate Mohit Mudgal while referring to a previous judgment said no hawker can defeat the rights of other citizensWhen some of the counsel tried to intervene and make submissions the court said We want to first see what judgments were delivered then in that context we want to see how the Street Vendors Act came about We do not want to lose our focus This is a dynamic situation What we are looking at is the Act which came in 2014 and its implementation There are more and more areas There may be more people who may be allowed to vend So we will have to see the Act and the scheme but firstly the street vending plan has to come it said adding that We are not coloured by any picture or paint The bench remarked Can it be said that just because the Act is not being implemented properly so the vendors will sit wherever they want We want proper implementation of the Act so that the problems of vendors end They should get proper places to sit proper kiosks in every market The court heard the arguments advanced by Ralli and listed the matter for further hearing on November 18 PTI SKV SKV TIR TIR

New Delhi Oct 29 PTI The Delhi High Court Friday pulled up the Delhi government for not preparing the statutory street vending plan saying enough politics and mockery has been done and questioned the formation of the Town Vending Committee TVC for the NDMC areaThe court said the administration of the city cannot be held to ransom at the hands of street vendors and maintained that it has ordered for the removal of illegal vendors and hawkers from the Connaught Place area as the law has to be implemented as it is in the no-hawking zonePlease get down to some real work Enough of politics Where is the street vending plan You need to first come out with the plan Unfortunately we are saying with a lot of pain that you people are not acting in the manner the Street Vendors Act was framed People are taking advantage out of it You are not able to make headway If you would have done it with bonafide things would have been different today a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh saidWe will not mince our words Dont play politics We mean business We are giving you one opportunity to mend your ways now the bench told the counsel for the Delhi governmentThe bench also raised questioned over the way the TVC for the New Delhi Municipal Council NDMC area has been formed which includes representatives of small markets but excludes the bigger stakeholders like shopkeepers of Connaught Place Sarojini Nagar Khan Market Janpath Gole Market and Bengali MarketYou have not worked seriously while forming this TVC You are forming TVC for the NDMC area and you are not including representatives from Connaught Place and Sarojini Nagar We think the whole process is a mess The way it is being worked out is completely wrong The way TVC is formed we are sorry to say but it appears it is a complete mockery it said adding you cannot hold the administration of the city to ransom at their handsThe courts observations came while hearing a plea by New Delhi Traders Association which represents shop owners and operators in the Connaught Place CP area seeking to strike down the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Scheme 2019The high court issued notice and sought response of the Delhi government and NDMC on the petition and directed the Delhi government to specifically mention in the affidavit the justification for the constitution of the current TVC for the NDMC areaIt also asked the government to mention the background of the NGO members including the field in which they are working and the causes that they are taking upThe association represented through senior advocate Sanjeev Ralli and lawyer Mohit Mudgal has also sought to set aside the September 17 2019 notification issued by the Delhi government for constituting a TVC for the entire NDMC areaRalli argued there is no statutory plan for street vending as mandated under the Street Vendors Act and this needs to be prepared by NDMC and approved and notified by the Delhi governmentHe further argued that about 16 organised markets are falling in the NDMC area where lakhs of visitors come every day and the representation of members of these markets are required in TVC for taking a balanced and fair decision regarding areas to be earmarked as vending restricted vending and no vending zones but two market associations have been included in TVC as against 12 streets vendors and 1 hawkers association who have been included as members of the committeeSenior advocate Rahul Mehra and standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi representing the Delhi government said due to the COVID-19 pandemic peoples back has been broken and now its Diwali time and vendors were supposed to make some money and they are being removed and that heaven will not fall if any action is taken after the festivalIt is festival period I am requesting for only one week These people are from lower strata and if they are spared for a week they would be able to earn some money during the festival and help their families They will only bless us Kindly modify the order of removal of illegal hawkers and street vendors Mehra submittedThe court which made clear that it was not against hawkers said Why the things be not streamlined be it Diwali or not Diwali Why there should be illegal hawkers street vendors tehbazaris at all and added that law cannot be ignored because its Diwali timeIn ethos we find street vendors They are part of our culture we are not against them We still buy fruits and other stuff from street vendors They are an essential part of the community and nobody is saying that they be thrown out of society They have fundamental rights but no fundamental right is absolute We need to balance it with the rights of others the bench saidIt said the implementation of the scheme is not correct and the current TVC is heavily dominated by vendors so it will not be able to work properlyWhen Mehra said that the court was earlier misled by Ralli and NDMC counsel Harsha Peechara the bench said Dont worry we do not get coloured so easily so have faith in us and also made it clear that it was wrong to make accusations against the two advocates concernedToday we are bound to implement the law on no hawking zone Till the time it is a no hawking zone irrespective of the law you have to implement it If you have the power to amend the law do it but till the time law is there you have to implement it it said PTI SKV SKV RKS RKS