NASVI Struggle Yields Result as Union Cabinet Approves Street Vendors’ Bill Street Vendors take out Victory Processions in several cities

NASVI urges all political parties to support the Bill in the current session of Parliament

New Delhi, 18 August:  The much awaited central law to protect the livelihood and social security rights of more than 10 million street vendors would soon be a reality with the Union Cabinet approving the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012. The Bill would now be placed in the Parliament for enactment.

The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) which has long been campaigning for such a central law on Saturday hailed the Union Cabinet for giving nod to  the street vendors bill and hoped that the Parliament would pass the bill  in its current session.

Hailing the Cabinet approval, NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh said, “The street vendors’ struggle has yielded result. We have reached a major milestone. Once enacted, the Street Vendors Law would go a long way in protecting the livelihood, dignity and human rights of millions of street vendors. We call upon all political parties to support the Bill in the Parliament.”

He said,” We have been struggling for a comprehensive central law in favour of street vendors since 2009. In October, 2010, the Supreme Court verdict also justified our demand and the government was directed to convert the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors into a law as the policy has not been able to ensure the fundamental right to livelihood of street vendors. Post- Supreme Court verdict, the street vendors indeed struggled a lot to get Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation convinced on the critical necessity of central law.”

“We organized vendors to come on to the street in several cities in 2011 and approached the National Advisory Council (NAC), Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson for getting a central law. We also contacted several Members of Parliament and urged them to write to the Prime Minister. We even prepared a Model Draft Bill and shared it with the NAC and the MHUPA”, added Mr. Singh.

Meanwhile the nationwide protest call given by NASVI on Saturday was converted into victory marches and celebration meetings across the country. The day witnessed street vendors taking out victory marches, splashing colours and thanking the UPA government for finally listening to the voice of street vendors.

According To NASVI, victory marches and celebration meetings were organized in more than sixty cities and towns including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Cochin, Surat, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana Roorkee and Dehradun.

The jubilant vendors cheered the decision of the union cabinet and thanked Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja.

In Delhi, a large number of street vendors assembled at Jantar Mantar for victory celebration and public meeting. The vendors greeted each other with gulal and took laddoos. A huge banner reading ‘NASVI Struggle Yields Result/ Union Cabinet Approves the Street Vendors Bill/ Its Time for Celebration’ adorned the site.

A group of young professionals from Delhi IIT and  IIM, Ahmedabad also joined the victory celebration expressing solidarity with the vendors.

Whatsoever the festive mood, the street vendors also used the occasion to raise their opposition to the renewed attempts of the government to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail. They thanked Prime Minister for getting cabinet approve the Street Vendors Bill, but also called for stopping the FDI entry in retail. The vendor leaders said that such entry would badly impact the livelihood of vendors and small retailers and the massive contribution of vendors and retailers to city, state and national economies would get drastically down.

NASVI representatives welcomed the move to regulate food vendors in the country under Food Safety and Regulation Act as registration under the process of regulation would help them get legitimacy for their business, but opposed the draconian provisions, such as penalty up to Rs. 25000 to a vendor not getting registered in time and the penalty up to two lakh for the failure to comply with government appointed Food Safety Officer.

Join & Support Street Vendors Campaign on 18 August, 2012

No Delay! Pass the Street Vendors Law in Current Session of Parliament No Benefit and Honour in Killing Livelihood of Street Vendors! No to FDI in Retail Scrap Draconian Provision of Food Safety and Regulation Act

As cities and towns are growing in India, many opportunities and challenges are also coming up before the urban working poor like street vendors. The opportunities can only be availed and challenges can only be faced if adequate legal framework is put in place by the government to protect and promote the livelihood and social security of street vendors and other vulnerable living in informal settings. Only such a comprehensive and effective legal framework can trigger large scale organizing and federalization of street and market vendors. Once this happens, they would be able to live a descent life and contribute to local economies across cities and towns.

In last two and half years, street vendors in India campaigned a lot and advocated vigorously with the ministries of national government for getting a comprehensive and overarching central law. Many struggles followed and twists and turns came during negotiating with governance institutions, but finally, the vendors and their national voice succeeded in influencing the government to start drafting the legislation.

As things stand today, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill prepared by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India has been endorsed by the Law Ministry and it is supposed to be placed in the Union Cabinet for its approval before it is placed on the floor of Indian Parliament in the current session.

 

In last couple of days, the Union Cabinet has met many times, but despite many advocacy efforts, it has not taken up the proposed Bill for approval. As things are progressing, the priorities of cabinet seem to be more on opening telecom and retail sector and less on according a new deal to urban working poor.

 

Last year, when the government intended to open the retail sector for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), thousands and thousands vendors, hawkers and small traders came out on the streets in various areas of the country. NASVI also organized nationwide protests on 30 November, 2011.  NASVI then had asserted that the FDI in retail would further threaten the livelihood of street vendors. The foreign companies would certainly try to drive out the street vendors through huge investment.  Moreover, as consumers would continue to be attracted to the street vendors as the things sold are fresh and cheaper, these foreign companies would also use dubious methods like bribing police to drive street vendors out. The agitating vendors and other retailers had found the official government arguments diversionary and said that small farmers and consumers would certainly not get benefitted and a new class of middlemen patronized by Wal-Mart type companies would emerge. The inflation would not come down, prices of essential goods would further escalate and incidence of labour rights violation would be regular.

 

The nationwide anti-FDI protests had forced the government to take a retreat. But, it is ironic that the same government that had to stand on its back foot has again trying to open the retail sector. The street vendors do need to again protest the government on this issue.

 

The government has also come up with a revamped version of Food Safety and Regulation Act which contains a number of draconian provisions. The street vendors welcome the provisions of regulation, but shall continue opposing the black measures which are meant to terrorize and evict the food vendors.

 

Situated in the above said context, the nationwide campaign on 18 August, 2012 is going to assert the following issues/demands before the UPA government:

 

1. 1.      No Delay! Pass the Street Vendors Law in Current Session of Parliament
2. 2.      No Benefit and Honour in Killing Livelihood of Street Vendors! No to FDI in Retail
3. 3.      Scrap Draconian Provision of Food Safety and Regulation Act

Urgent Call Hit the Streets on 18 August, 2012

Dear NASVI members, friends and well wishers

Our patience is running out….

We were told by the government that the Street Vendors’ Bill was in final shape and the Union Law Ministry also had cleared it. We were given assurances that the Bill would get the approval of the Cabinet and it would be tabled in the monsoon session of the Parliament.

However, till date, the Cabinet has not taken it up. The Cabinet does not delay in taking decision on spectrum price, but it prefers to defer the much awaited Street Vendors Bill.

Therefore, we have decided to call for nationwide protests on 18 August, 2012 demanding early passage of the Street Vendors Law in the current session of parliament.

Additionally, despite the fact that last year the government was forced to stand on back foot on the issue of FDI in retail, this year the demon of FDI is again raising its ugly head. We thank those Chief Ministers who have had opposed the entry of FDI in retail and we must join them in opposing it tooth and nail.

Lastly,   as far as the Food Safety and Regulation Act is concerned, we welcome regulation, but we shall continue opposing the draconian measures which are in the Act.

 I call upon you all to rise in protest in every city and town of India on 18 August, 2012 demanding

1. 1.      No Delay! Pass  Street Vendors’ Law  in Monsoon Session of Parliament
2. 2.      No Honour in Killing Livelihood of Street Vendors! No to FDI in Retail
3. 3.      Scrap Draconian Measures of Food Safety and Regulation Act

 

Kindly plan the protest and inform us soon

Street Vendors’ Bill should not get delayed, NASVI urges Prime Minister and demands tabling of Bill in upcoming session of Parliament

New Delhi, 4 August:  National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI)  which has long been struggling for a comprehensive central law in favour of street vendors on Saturday expressed anguish over the delay in clearing  the much awaited Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012 and called upon the Prime Minister to see to it that the Bill is cleared by the Union Cabinet as early as possible so that it can be tabled in the upcoming session of Parliament.

NASVI National Coordinator Arbind Singh said that the Street Vendors’ Law would be a major progressive legislation as it would help immensely in ensuring the fundamental right to livelihood of millions of street vendors and in making cities and towns regulated in a very inclusive manner.

Describing need of central law as a critical social-political need of today’s urban India, Mr. Singh said, “ the long pending street vendors’ bill should not get delayed and the Prime Minister should ensure that the Cabinet clears it immediately so that it can be placed in the coming session of Parliament.”

It is worth recalling that the Government of India had adopted a National Policy for Street Vendors in 2004 and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA) revised it later in 2009 and also brought in Model Bill-2009. However, the policy implementation remained unsatisfactory in many states. Moreover, the policy vagueness and legal frameworks have had conflicts with the legal provisions in the municipal laws and the Indian Penal Code.

Though NASVI started raising the demand for central law for street vendors in 2009 itself, but in reality NASVI campaign for central law took prominence in October, 2010 when the Supreme Court also observed that the National Policy had not been able to protect fundamental right to livelihood of vendors and directed the government to convert the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors into a law.

Post- Supreme Court verdict, the street vendors under the banner of NASVI struggled a lot to get the MHUPA convinced on the critical necessity of central law.

NASVI organized vendors to come on to the street in several cities in 2011 and it approached the National Advisory Council (NAC), Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson for getting a central law. It also contacted several Members of Parliament and urged them to write to the Prime Minister. In May, 2011, the NAC recommended to the Government of India to bring in central law in favour of street vendors.

After NAC recommendation and sustained campaign of NASVI, the MHUPA swung into action and the process of drafting the Bill started. The process took months and finally it went to Law Ministry for vetting in June, 2012. Last month the Law Ministry cleared it and now it is listed for approval by the Union Cabinet.

Once enacted, the central law would prevail over all state municipal laws as well as police acts to the extent that they are inconsistent with the law for street vendors. It also would do away with the existing license system that has become a tool to victimize and harass the street vendors in almost all municipal areas in the country.

According to sources, as per the Bill anyone over 18 years can apply and register as street vendor with respective Town Vending Committee (TVC) on payment of one-time fee. Once registered, they will be given identity cards entitling them to sell their wares in specified vending zones.

The decision of making vending zones would be taken up by the respective TVC.  Every TVC would have at least 40 per cent members from the street vendors (one-third of which shall be women vendors). Besides, the Bill contains provisions to protect and promote natural markets, weekly markets and night bazaars where vendors and hawkers can sell their wares.

The proposed legislation also has clear provisions for grievance redressal and transparency. The laid out provisions and mechanisms protect vendors from confiscation of their goods and forced eviction by authorities. An arrangement of appellate system also has been put in the proposed law wherein local authorities have been empowered to set up a permanent committee consisting of a person who has been a sub-judge or a judicial magistrate to redress vendors’ grievances.