Additional Advocate General P.H. Arvindh Pandian informed the court that the enumeration exercise was fully complete and that the corporation had also identified the hawking and no-hawking zones.
CHENNAIPut details of ‘genuine’ hawkers on website, HC directs Corpn.
Enumeration exercise is complete and the Corporation has identified hawking and no-hawking zones, says AAG. | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Legal CorrespondentCHENNAI 10 JANUARY 2020 01:23 ISTUPDATED: 10 JANUARY 2020 02:23 IST
Lawyer accuses civic body of having issued identity cards to bogus street vendors
The Madras High Court on Thursday directed Greater Chennai Corporation to upload on its website the complete details of an enumeration exercise carried out by the civic body in all 15 zones to identify genuine hawkers entitled for protection under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014.
Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha issued the direction after advocate D. Nagasaila, appearing for an association of street vendors, accused the Corporation of having issued identity cards to bogus vendors and keeping at bay the genuine beneficiaries. She alleged absolute non transparency in the enumeration exercise.
When a batch of cases related to regulation of hawkers and maintenance of pavements across the city came up for hearing before the Division Bench, Additional Advocate General P.H. Arvindh Pandian informed the court that the enumeration exercise was fully complete and that the corporation had also identified the hawking and no-hawking zones.
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Not convinced with the submission, the senior judge in the Bench asked for how many more years would the Corporation continue to keep saying the same thing without showing any progress. He wanted to know when the no-hawking zones would become free of hawkers after accommodating the latter in areas designated as hawking zones.
No transparency
“What is the outer limit? Why so long? Do you want 300 years from now to complete the job?” the judge asked the corporation officials. In her submissions, Ms. Nagasaila alleged that genuine street vendors were not being registered only to ensure that they keep paying “mamool (bribe money)” to the police and corporation officials to eke their livelihood. She wondered why was the Corporation shying away from making public the list of people who had been identified as street vendors across the city and issued with identity cards. She also stated that the engagement of an external agency to carry out the enumeration exercise had also led to the genuine vendors not having been taken into account.
On the other hand, the AAG informed the court that an external agency was engaged for the job only because there were complaints of the family members of some corporation officials being issued with identity cards.
