Seniority Wins in Thane’s New Vendor Policy

There is growing concern that the identity of the ‘old vendors’ in Thane might be lost due to new surveys. BJP Corporator Namrata Koli has demanded that the Thane Municipal Corporation must take a strategic decision to rehabilitate and provide benefits to vendors found eligible in surveys conducted in 2016 and 2019. The corporator argues that conducting a new survey without settling the 2016 and 2019 lists would be unjust to the original vendors who have already completed the legal verification process.

Namrata Koli has sent a formal letter to the Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde, and Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao. She noted that according to the National Street Vendors Policy and the Street Vendors Act of 2014, surveys should be conducted every five years and that the “old” eligible vendors must be integrated into the “Hawkers Zone” first. She suggests that established vendors must be given ID cards with QR codes containing all their documents and information, making it easier to verify them and take action against unauthorised sellers. To conduct fair and accurate surveys, a reputable institution such as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences should be recruited.