Out in the streets for a licence

As the BMC launches a survey to identify hawkers to issue them fresh licences, hundreds are setting up stalls, even if only for a day, to get on the list. But none of them stand a chance without the middlemen’s help.The BMC’s ongoing survey to identify hawkers in the city has become a farce, with all and sundry occupying vantage spots with all kinds of knickknacks in the hope of landing a licence when the process is completed.The survey is in preparation for the implementation of the National Hawker Policy of 2009, which followed a Supreme Court order that said the total number of hawkers in a city should be up to 2.5 per cent of the total population.Based on this calculation, Mumbai can have up to 300,000 hawkers, while the total number of registered hawkers in the city is now a mere 18,000. To be sure, registering in the BMC survey doesn’t guarantee a hawking licence.Hawkers have to produce documentary proof like challans to prove that they have been hawking their wares from a particular spot for more than 10 years.But that hasn’t stopped people from trying to secure a spot. In the process, touts and middlemen are making hay, charging anywhere around Rs 1,500 from ‘aspirants’.On Tuesday, Mirror managed to get hold of one such tout (pictured on Page 1), who helped us get registered as a hawker on Mahapalika Marg, barely 100 metres from the BMC headquarters. It took Rs 1,200 and all of 30 minutes for us to get on the list.The road, which is opposite St Xavier College, was empty till half-anhour before the BMC officials came for the survey. In a matter of minutes, around 30 hawkers – some had just four worn-out T-shirts – descended on the road and set up shop. Soon, the officials arrived, with the tout in tow.The tout initially refused to help our man. Soon, he relented and demanded for Rs 2,000 before settling for Rs 1,200. “Where is your merchandise? Do you want me to take care of that as well?” he then asked.When our man (Vinay Narayan Shinde, an employee of Roopam Store in Crawford market) told him he had brought his own wares the tout showed us a spot. Ironically, our man set up his stall right in front of the officials, who were writing down details of the other ‘hawkers’.When the officials reached our stall, Shinde gave them his driving licence, filled out a form seeking basic information about him. He then posed for a photograph for the BMC team and was given a registration number.“You will have to submit your documents by August 2,” said JV Jadhav, the BMC official leading the team.The documents that will be required later are PAN card, Aadhar card, voters ID and ration card, among others. A hawker will have to prove that he has been vending from a particular spot for over a decade. This, BMC officials believe, will help them identify real hawkers. The tout, however, assured our man that he can arrange anything - even 10-year-old old fine receipts - for a fee. This is why those opposed to the methodology are not convinced. Roopam Store owner Viren Shah, who provided his merchandise to Shinde, heads the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association and has been opposing the drive on the ground that a lot of hawkers have cropped up in the past few days pretending to be old-timers.“It is nothing but a mockery of the SC order,” said Shah. “Genuine hawkers are being left out while bogus people are springing up everywhere. When our shopkeepers opposed the new ones coming up right outside their stores, the fake hawkers protected by mafia beat up traders. The BMC should put an end to this charade.”The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has alleged that the BMC failed to inform citizens, or even corporators, about the survey. MNS Group Leader Sandeep Deshpande on Monday met Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, demanding that the survey be stopped.“The city’s roads - including nohawking zones - have been taken over by hawkers all of a sudden,” said Deshpande. “The BMC should make domicile mandatory for someone seeking an official licence.”The busy Prabodhankar Thackeray Road, where now hawking took place till a few days ago, was lined with people selling everything from baby clothes to mobile covers, pen drives and phone accessories. One of them, Renuka, said that she wanted to get photographed, which will help her get a hawking licence.On Monday, an elderly woman was spotted selling vegetables on a footpath outside St Xavier’s College, trying to catch the attention of the BMC officials surveying the area for hawkers. She was nowhere to be found yesterday (Tuesday).Dozens of paani puri and bhel stalls have sprung up at Kabutar Khana over the past few days, the residents have complained. One of them said, “All these years, there have been two chaat vendors here and all of a sudden, there are at least a dozen such vendors. A few of them don’t even have enough food to last an entire day.”Lanes in Pant Nagar are buzzing with activity, as several people have lined up, mostly selling food items and mobile accessories. One such ‘hawker;, Priya Lohekar, said that she has been selling fruits and wants to be included in the BMC survey for a hawking license. Residents said that there has been a huge increase in the number of hawkers after BMC announced the survey.Barfiwala Lane has been crammed with hawkers, said corporator Ameet Satam, adding that there is no space to walk, leave around drive in the area. “More and more people are setting up stalls hoping to get included in the survey for hawking licences. BMC didn’t bother to inform the corporators and the residents about such survey, and people are suffering because of the chaos,” Satam said.