Vendors can avail skill training under self-employment programmes

The GHMC on Sunday announced the implementation of Street Vendors Act to protect rights of vendors in the city.

Commissioner Dr. B. Janardhan Reddy announced that the implementation of the Act was under way and that over 3,000 of 5,000-odd vendors surveyed have been issued identity cards. The Act allows street vendors to avail skill training under self-employment programmes instituted by the government. Dr. Reddy also announced that town-vending committees comprising government representatives, street vendors, community organisations and civil society activists, are being formed.

The committee is required to find accommodation for vendors in its work area. Despite court orders, the Act has not seen compliance in most States. Besides an initial survey and formation of few town-vending committees, implementation in GHMC has been far from complete.

Ordering circle-level officials to demarcate vending zones in their circles, the Commissioner called for a time-bound implementation of the Act.

The Act came into being in 2014 but sans rules, governments did not implement the Act. The Act permits certified vendors to operate within specified vending zones at earmarked spaces, while municipalities can collect a pre-determined fees or rentals from vendors.