The Street Vendors (Protection of

Livelihood and Regulation of Street

Vending) Act, 2014
1. INTRODUCTION
2. STREET VENDING: Meaning & Definition
3. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPORTANCE OF STREET VENDORS
4. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS RELEVANT TO THE
PROTECTION OF STREET VENDORS
5. PROTECTION TO STREET VENDORS: An Indian Perspective
i. Constitutional Protection to Street Vendors
ii. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of
Street Vending Act), 2014
- Critical Analysis of the Act
6. Judicial Pronouncement
7. Implementation of the Act
8. CONCLUSION
 Street vendors form a very important segment of the
unauthorized sector in the country. It is estimated that
in several cities street vendors count for about 2 per cent
of the population. Women constitute a large segment of
these street vendors in almost every city. Street vending
is not only a source of self employment to the poor in
cities and towns but also a means to provide affordable
as well as convenient services to majority of the urban
population.
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
(MoHUPA) (2009:1)
 A street vendor is broadly defined as a person engaged in the vending
of articles, goods, wares, food items or merchandise of everyday use or
offering services to the general public in a street-lane, side-walk,
footpath, pavement, public park or any other public place or private area
without having a permanent built- up structure.

According to Oxford English Dictionary, a street vendor is a person who

sells something in the street, either from a stall or van or with their
goods laid out in the sidewalk.

Section 2(l) of The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and

Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 states that street vendor
means a person engaged in vending of articles, goods, wares, food
items or merchandise of everyday use or offering services to the general
public, in a street, lane, side walk, footpath, pavement, public park or
any other public place or private area, from a temporary built up
structure or by moving from place to place and includes hawker,
peddler, squatter and all other synonymous terms which may be local or
region specific; and the words street vending with their grammatical
variations and cognate expressions, shall be construed accordingly.
 First, hawking provides a major source of
employment to a significant portion of the Indian
population.

Second, as economic development and the forces of

globalization continue to advance in India, street
vending provides a vital counterweight to
fluctuations in the formal economy by providing
alternate employment for those who are laid off in
the formal sector.

Third, by providing affordable products to local

populations, street vendors fill crucial needs in
consumer demand that the formal sector cannot
adequately serve.
 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) .

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) .

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

(ICCPR) .

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and

Cultural Rights (ICESCR) .

India is also a state party to forty-two International

Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION TO STREET
VENDORS:
The Constitution has two important sections:
Part III-Fundamental Rights:
Article 14: Equality before law.
Article 19 (1) (g): Protection of certain rights regarding
freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty.
Article 32: Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by
this Part.
Article 226: Power of High Courts to issue certain writs.
Part IV- Directive Principles of State Policy:

Article 37: Application of the principles contained in

this Part.
Article 38: State to secure a social order for the
promotion of welfare of the people.
Article 39: Certain principles of policy to be followed
by the State.
Article 41: Right to work, to education and to public
assistance in certain cases.
 The bill aimed at providing social security and livelihood rights to
street vendors, has its origin in The Street Vendors Policy
introduced in 2004, which was later revised as National Policy on
Urban Street Vendors, 2009.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation circulated a
draft of bill titled, Model Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood
and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2009.
The bill was drafted with the help of the National Advisory Council,
chaired by Sonia Gandhi, and approved by the Union Cabinet on
August 17, 2012.
After the cabinets approval it was introduced in the Lok Sabha on
September 6, 2012 by the Union Minister of Housing and Urban
Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja. The Bill was passed in the Lok
Sabha on 6th September 2013 and by the Rajya Sabha on 19th
February 2014.
The bill received the assent of the President of India on 4th March
2014. The Act came into force from 1st May 2014 known as The
Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood And Regulation Of Street
Vending) Act, 2014.
 An Act is to protect the rights of urban street
vendors and to regulate street vending
activities and for matters connected therewith
or incidental thereto.

Contents of the Act:

The Act consists of total 39 Sections
which divided into 10 Chapters and 2
Schedules.
 Chapter I of the Act-Preliminary Provisions (Sections1 & 2).
Chapter II of the Act-Regulation of Street Vending Provisions (Sections
3-11).
Chapter III of the Act-Rights and Obligations of the Street Vendors
Provisions (Sections 12-17 ).
Chapter IV of the Act-Relocation and Eviction of Street Vendors
Provisions (Sections 18-19 ).
Chapter V of the Act-Dispute Redressal Mechanism Provisions (Section
20).
Chapter VI of the Act-Plan for Street Vending Provisions (Section 21).
Chapter VII of the Act-Town Vending Committee Provisions (Sections
22-26).
Chapter VIII of the Act-Prevention of Harassment of Street Vendors
Provisions (Section 27).
Chapter IX of the Act-Penal Provisions (Section 28).
Chapter X of the Act-Miscellaneous Provisions (Sections 29-39).
 SCHEDULE 1 of the Act deals with the Plan for
Street Vending.

SCHEDULE 2 of the Act deals the matters to

be provided in the Scheme for Street Vendors
framed by the Appropriate Government.
 There is no provision of consulting TVC while
formulating the street vending plan.
However Street Vendors Act was enacted in 2014
but till now only preliminary effort has been done
in actual implementation of this act like framing
rules or conducting survey etc.
The current Act leaves a lot with delegated
legislation and it defeats the purpose of a Central
law.
The railway accommodates a significant population
of street vendors in India but unfortunately railway
is excluded from purview of this Act.
 Olga Tellis and Others vs. Bombay Municipal
Corporation ,AIR 1986 SC 180, when a group of
pavement and slum dwellers in Bombay (Mumbai) and
their supporters sought to oppose eviction. The judge
determined that the 'right to life' under Article 21 on
Protection of Life and Personal Liberty should be
expanded to include a 'right to shelter and livelihood'.

Sodan Singh & Others v. New Delhi Municipal

Council ,(1989) 3 SCR 1038, has recognized that
street vending is not only a source of self-
employmentbut also a means to provide
affordable as well as convenient services to a
majority of the urban population.
In its landmark judgement of September 9, 2013 in the
Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union v. Municipal Corporation of
Greater Mumbai (2004) 1 SCC 625, The apex court stated, street
vendors are a harassed a lot and constantly victimised by the
officials of the local authorities, the police, etc., who regularly
targeted them for extra income and treat them with extreme
contempt. Hawkers kept approaching the court to seek relief
from this harassment. Usually courts dont ask the Government
to enact a law. But the judiciary was so overburdened with all
these cases over hawking rights that the Supreme Court finally
asked the Government to enact a law to regulate vending rights.
Despite that, when no law was forthcoming, it gave the 2009
National Policy on Urban Vendors the weight of law untill such a
time a law came into force. The Street Vendors Act, largely
drawn from 2009 policy, was finally passed in 2014.
Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union and Another v. Municipal
Corporation ,Greater Mumbai and Another., (2014) 1 SCC 490,
The apex court held that in purview of Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union v.
Municipal Corpn., Greater Mumbai, (2004) 1 SCC 625, which was decided on
9-12-2003, a two-Judge Bench referred to the judgments in Olga Tellis v.
Bombay Municipal Corpn., (1985) 3 SCC 545, Sodan Singh v. New Delhi
Municipal Committee,(1989) 4 SCC 155, the recommendations made by the
Committee constituted pursuant to an earlier judgment and observed:
The above authorities make it clear that the hawkers have a right under
Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. This right, however, is subject to
reasonable restrictions under Article 19(6). Thus hawking may not be
permitted where, e.g. due to narrowness of road, free flow of traffic or
movement of pedestrians is hindered or where for security reasons an area
is required to be kept free or near hospitals, places of worship, etc. There is
no fundamental right under Article 21 to carry on any hawking business.
There is also no right to do hawking at any particular place. The authorities
also recognise the fact that if properly regulated, the small traders can
considerably add to the convenience and comfort of the general public, by
making available ordinary articles of everyday use for a comparatively lesser
price. The scheme must keep in mind the above principles.
So far as Mumbai is concerned, the scheme must comply with the
conditions laid down in Bombay Hawkers Union case, (1985) 3 SCC
528. Those conditions have become final and there is no changed
circumstance which necessitates any alteration.
The Court then enumerated the following restrictions and
conditions subject to which the hawkers could do business in
Mumbai: (Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union case,(2004) 1 SCC 625
at SCC pp. 635-37, para14) 10
(1) An area of 1 m 1 m on one side of the footpath wherever they
exist or on an extreme side of the carriageway, in such a manner
that the vehicular and pedestrian traffic is not obstructed and
access to shops and residences is not blocked. We further clarify
that even where hawking is permitted, it can only be on one side of
the footpath or road and under no circumstances on both sides of
the footpaths or roads. We, however, clarify that Aarey/Sarita stalls
and sugarcane vendors would require and may be permitted an
area of more than 1 m 1 m but not more than 2
m 1 m.
(2) Hawkers must not put up stalls or place any tables, stand or
such other thing or erect any type of structure. They should also
not use handcarts.
However, they may protect their goods from the sun, rain or
wind. Obviously, this condition would not apply to aarey/sarita
stalls.
(3) There should be no hawking within 100 m from any place of
worship, holy shrine, educational institutions and hospitals or
within 150 m from any municipal or other markets or from any
railway station. There should be no hawking on footbridges and
overbridges. Further, certain areas may be required to be kept
free of hawkers for
security reasons. However, outside places of worship hawkers
can be permitted to sell items required by the devotees for
offering to the deity or for placing in the place of worship e.g.
flowers, sandalwood, candles, agarbattis, coconuts, etc.
 Dharam Chand v. Chairman, New Delhi Municipal
Council and others, SC Civil Appeal No.5779 of 2015
[arising out of S.L.P.(C)No. 3632 of 2015, The appellants
case in brief is that since 1965 he was squatting in the area of
Chandni Chowk as a Hawker selling cloths and thereafter Tehbazari
of selling tea was given by the NDMC to him at Bhagwan Das Road
and he remained there till 1982, when he was shifted to the
present place opposite to the Supreme Court. In 1989, a large
number of writ petitions claiming a right to trade on the pavements
in different parts of Delhi were filed under Article 32 of the
Constitution and the Apex Court appointed a Committee known as
Thareja Committee to examine the claims made by the squatters in
the light of Scheme prepared by the NDMC.
The Court held that the appellant has a right to earn his livelihood,
but on the other hand there is serious issue of safety and security
of the premises near the Supreme Court compound. Hence, the
Court has to balance between the two.
The purpose involving general interest of community
as opposed to the interest of individual directly or
indirectly has to be balanced. Merely because of the
contention of the appellant and the respondents that
after the bomb blasts took place in Delhi High Court
compound in 2011, no such incident happened till
date, it cannot be presumed that such incident will not
happen in a near future. The Court cannot assume and
presume that there is no threat to the safety and
security of the Supreme Court and its vicinity and
allow the appellant to continue the said business.
Rajneesh Misra v. Union of India and Ors.
27th Feb. 2015 (HC) Jharkhand, The court ordered
to constitute Town Vending Committee as contained in
Section 22 of the Street Vendors Act of 2014.
Municipal Commissioner or the Chief Executive Officer
shall be the Chairperson of 5 each Town Vending
Committee. By constituting, many decisions could be
taken for regulating street vending and even hawking
zones could be identified. Position in the town is that
there is hardly any road left on which street vendors
are not found, which, in turn, leads to a serious traffic
congestion throughout the day.
 The first step in the implementation of the Act by National
Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) is notification
of Rules and Schemes which is notified under the Section 36
& 38 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and
Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014.
At present Rules are notified in 16 States i.e. Assam, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and in 6 Union Territories i.e.
Andaman & Nicobar Island, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar
Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Delhi.
Schemes are notified in 10 States i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Telengana, Tripura,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and in 3 Union Territories i.e.
Chandigarh, Daman & Diu and Delhi.
 The street vendors and hawkers constitute the most visible and active
parts of the large informal sector. Street Vending is a way of hope for
those persons who migrate from villages to town for earning and gaining
some profit for themselves. Street Vendors provides commodities at
relatively low prices, sometimes at door step, to the marginalized
sections of the society.
The socio-economic spheres of the Street Vendors are not as good as
they suffer harassment by Police and the policies related for the
protection of the Street Vendors are not implemented properly and many
of vendors are unaware of the protection given to them.
The Street Vendors Act of 2014 has some flawed provisions but still it is
a very good start for creating a harassment free environment for street
vendors. There is need to do a lot for purpose of harassment free
environment such as training to TVC members, organized elections of
street vendors in TVC, apply provisions of this Act to railways, to conduct
awareness programme for the street vendors, etc.
Thus, the Street Vendors rights must be protected and must be
preserved according to what they deserve to live a peaceful life.
THANK YOU