Move comes a month ahead of municipal polls

Providing legal sanction to hawkers crowding several markets and footpaths of Kolkata, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced a policy aimed at legalising hawking in West Bengal.

The decision, which is seen as a sop to hawkers, comes only a month before the Kolkata Municipal Corporation goes to polls.

“We are the first State government in the country which has decided to legalise hawking. This will ensure you are not evicted by anybody. We have formulated a policy for the hawkers. We are the first in the country to start the process of registering vendors and hawkers,” Ms Banerjee said at a gathering of hawkers.

Interestingly, the Chief Minister announcement comes when shopkeepers in the city’s New Market area have declared a 72-hour shutdown against the hawker menace.

The process of legislation of hawkers will begin on July 15 and continue for three months.

“The process of verifying the applications will be carried out between January and March. Once verified, you will be given a registration certificate and free trade license. But this facility is available only for the existing hawkers,” she added

Though Ms Banerjee asked hawkers not to encroach the shops or inconvenience pedestrians, Opposition parties said that the decision will increase hawker menace.

According to reports, there are at least 2 lakh hawkers in Kolkata.