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THE STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD AND REGULATION OF STREET VENDING) ACT, 2014
(NO. 7 OF 2014)
[4th March, 2014.]
An Act to protect the rights of urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
Short title, extent, commencement and provisions.
1. (1) This Act may be called the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different States and any reference in any provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed in relation to any State as a reference to the coming into force of that provision in that State.
(4) The provisions of this Act shall not apply to any land, premises and trains owned and controlled by the Railways under the Railway Act, 1989.
Definitions.
2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “appropriate Government” means in respect of matters relating to,—
(i) a Union territory without Legislature, the Central Government;
(ii) the Union territories with Legislature, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi or, as the case may be, the Government of Union territory of Puducherry;
(iii) a State, the State Government;
(b) “holding capacity” means the maximum number of street vendors who can be accommodated in any vending zone and has been determined as such by the local authority on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee;
(c) “local authority” means a Municipal Corporation or a Municipal Council or a Nagar Panchayat, by whatever name called, or the Cantonment Board, or as the case may be, a civil area committee appointed under section 47 of the Cantonment Act, 2006 or such other body entitled to function as a local authority in any city or town to provide civic services and regulate street vending and includes the “planning authority” which regulates the land use in that city or town;
(d) “mobile vendors” means street vendors who carry out vending activities in designated area by moving from one place to another place vending their goods and services;
(e) “natural market” means a market where sellers and buyers have traditionally congregated for the sale and purchase of products or services and has been determined as such by the local authority on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee;
(f) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the term “notify” shall be construed accordingly;
(g)“planning authority” means an Urban Development Authority or any other authority in any city or town designated by the appropriate Government as responsible for regulating the land use by defining the precise extent of areas for any particular activity in the master plan or development plan or zonal plan or layout plan or any other spatial plan which is legally enforceable under the applicable Town and Country Planning Act or the Urban Development Act or the Municipal Act, as the case may be;
(h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government;
(i) “Schedule” means the Schedule annexed to this Act;
(j) “scheme” means a scheme framed by the appropriate Government under section 38;
(k) “stationary vendors” means street vendors who carry out vending activities on regular basis at a specific location;
(l) “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;
(m) “Town Vending Committee” means the body constituted by the appropriate Government under section 22;
(n) “vending zone” means an area or a place or a location designated as such by the local authority, on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee, for the specific use by street vendors for street vending and includes footpath, side walk, pavement, embankment, portions of a street, waiting area for public or any such place considered suitable for vending activities and providing services to the general public.
(2) Any reference in this Act to any enactment or any provision thereof, shall, in relation to an area in which such enactment or such provision is not in force be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.
CHAPTER II
REGULATION OF STREET VENDING
Survey of street vendors and protection from eviction or relocation.
3. (1) The Town Vending Committee shall, within such period and in such manner as may be specified in the scheme, conduct a survey of all existing street vendors, within the area under its jursidiction, and subsequent survey shall be carried out at least once in every five years.
(2) The Town Vending Committee shall ensure that all existing street vendors, identified in the survey, are accommondated in the vending zones subject to a norm conforming to two and half per cent. of the population of the ward or zone or town or city, as the case may be, in accordance with the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones.
(3) No street vendor shall be evicted or, as the case may be, relocated till the survey specified under sub-section (1) has been completed and the certificate of vending is issued to all street vendors.
Issue of certificate of vending.
4. (1) Every street vendor, identified under the survey carried out under sub-section (1) of section 3, who has completed the age of fourteen years or such age as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government, shall be issued a certificate of vending by the Town Vending Committee, subject to such terms and conditions and within the period specified in the scheme including the restrictions specified in the plan for street vending:
Provided that a person, whether or not included under the survey under sub-section (1) of section 3, who has been issued a certificate of vending before the commencement of this Act, whether known as licence or any other form of permission (whether as a stationary vendor or a mobile vendor or under any other category) shall be deemed to be a street vendor for that category for the period for which he has been issued such certificate of vending.
(2) Where, in the intervening period between two surveys, any person seeks to vend, the Town Vending Committee may grant a certificate of vending to such person, subject to the scheme, the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones.
(3) Where the number of street vendors identified under sub-section (1) or the number of persons seeking to vend under sub-section (2) are more than the holding capacity of the vending zone and exceeds the number of persons to be accommodated in that vending zone, the Town Vending Committee shall carry out a draw of lots for issuing the certificate of vending for that vending zone and the remaining persons shall be accommodated in any adjoining vending zone to avoid relocation.
Conditions for issue of certificate of vending.
5. (1) Every street vendor shall give an undertaking to the Town Vending Committee prior to the issue of a certificate of vending under section 4, that—
(a) he shall carry on the business of street vending himself or through any of his family member;
(b) he has no other means of livelihood:
(c) he shall not transfer in any manner whatsoever, including rent, the certificate of vending or the place specified therein to any other person.
(2) Where a street vendor to whom a certificate of vending is issued dies or suffers from any permanent disability or is ill, one of his family member in following order of priority, may vend in his place, till the validity of the certificate of vending—
(a) spouse of the street vendor;
(b) dependent child of the street vendor:
Provided that where a dispute arises as to who is entitled to vend in the place of the vendor, the matter shall be decided by the committee under section 20.
Categories of certificate of vending and issue of identity cards.
6. (1) The certificate of vending shall be issued under any of the following categories, namely:—
(a) a stationary vendor;
(b) a mobile vendor; or
(c) any other category as may be specified in the scheme.
(2) The certificate of vending issued for the categories specified in sub-section (1) shall be in such form, and issued in such manner, as may be specified in the scheme and specify the vending zone where the street vendor shall carry on his vending activities, the days and timings for carrying on such vending activities and the conditions and restrictions subject to which he shall carry on such vending activities.
(3) Every street vendor who has been issued certificate of vending under sub-section (1) shall be issued identity cards in such form and manner as may be specified in the scheme.
Criteria for issuing certificate of vending.
7. The criteria to be followed by the Town Vending Committee for issuing certificate of vending to a street vendor shall be as specified in the scheme, which may, apart from other things, provide for preference to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women, persons with disabilities, minorities or such other categories as may be specified in the scheme.
Vending fees.
8. Every street vendor who has been issued certificate of vending shall pay such vending fees as may be specified in the scheme.
Validity and renewal of certificate of vending.
9. (1) Every certificate of vending shall be valid for such period as may be specified in the scheme.
(2) Every certificate of vending shall be renewable for such period, in such manner, and on payment of such fees, as may be specified in the scheme.
Cancellation or suspension of certificate of vending.
10. Where a street vendor who has been issued a certificate of vending under this Act commits breach of any of the conditions thereof or any other terms and conditions specified for the purpose of regulating street vending under this Act or any rules or schemes made thereunder, or where the Town Vending Committee is satisfied that such certificate of vending has been secured by the street vendor through misrepresentation or fraud, the Town Vending Committee may, without prejudice to any other fine which may have been incurred by the street vendor under this Act, cancel the certificate of vending or suspend the same in such manner as may be specified in the scheme and for such period as it deems fit:
Provided that no such cancellation or suspension shall be made by the Town Vending Committee unless an opportunity of hearing has been given to the street vendor.
Appeal from decision of Town Vending Committee.
11. (1) Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Town Vending Committee with respect to issue of certificate of vending under section 6 or cancellation or suspension of certificate of vending under section 10 may prefer an appeal to the local authority in such form, within such period, and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
(2) No appeal shall be disposed of by the local authority unless the appellant has been given an opportunity of hearing.
CHAPTER III
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF STREET VENDORS
Rights of street vendor.
12. (1) Every street vendor shall have the right to carry on the business of street vending activities in accordance with the terms and conditions mentioned in the certificate of vending.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any area or space, as the case may be, has been earmarked as no-vending zone, no street vendor shall carry out any vending activities in that zone.
Right of street vendor for a new site or area on relocation.
13. Every street vendor, who possesses a certificate of vending, shall, in case of his relocation under section 18, be entitled for new site or area, as the case may be, for carrying out his vending activities as may be determined by the local authority, in consultation with the Town Vending Committee.
Duty of street vendors.
14. Where a street vendor occupies space on a time sharing basis, he shall remove his goods and wares every day at the end of the time-sharing period allowed to him.
Maintenance of cleanliness and public hygiene.
15. Every street vendor shall maintain cleanliness and public hygiene in the vending zones and the adjoining areas.
Maintenance of civic amenities in vending zone in good condition.
16. Every street vendor shall maintain civic amenities and public property in the vending zone in good condition and not damage or destroy or cause any damage or destruction to the same.
Relocation or eviction of street vendors.
17. Every street vendor shall pay such periodic maintenance charges for the civic amenities and facilities provided in the vending zones as may be determined by the local authority.
CHAPTER IV
RELOCATION AND EVICTION OF STREET VENDORS
Payment of maintenance charges.
18. (1) The local authority may, on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee, declare a zone or part of it to be a no-vending zone for any public purpose and relocate the street vendors vending in that area, in such manner as may be specified in the scheme.
(2) The local authority shall evict such street vendor whose certificate of vending has been cancelled under section 10 or who does not have a certificate of vending and vends without such certificate, in such manner as may be specified in the scheme.
(3) No street vendor shall be relocated or evicted by the local authority from the place specified in the certificate of vending unless he has been given thirty days’ notice for the same in such manner as may be specified in the scheme.
(4) A street vendor shall be relocated or evicted by the local authority physically in such manner as may be specified in the scheme only after he had failed to vacate the place specified in the certificate of vending, after the expiry of the period specified in the notice.
(5) Every street vendor who fails to relocate or vacate the place specified in the certificate of vending, after the expiry of the period specified in the notice, shall be liable to pay for every day of such default, a penalty which may extend up to two hundred and fifty rupees, as may be determined by the local authority, but shall not be more than the value of goods seized.
Seizure and reclaiming of goods.
19. (1) If the street vendor fails to vacate the place specified in the certificate of vending, after the lapse of the period specified in the notice given under sub-section (3) of section 18, the local authority, in addition to evicting the street vendor under section 18, may, if it deems necessary, seize the goods of such street vendor in such manner as may be specified in the scheme:
Provided that where any such seizure is carried out, a list of goods seized shall be prepared, as specified in the scheme, and a copy thereof, duly signed by the person authorized to seize the goods, shall be issued to the street vendor.
(2) The street vendor whose goods have been seized under sub-section (1) may, reclaim his goods in such manner, and after paying such fees, as may be specified in the scheme:
Provided that in case of non-perishable goods, the local authority shall release the goods within two working days of the claim being made by the street vendor, and in case of perishable goods the local authority shall release the goods on the same day of the claim being made by the street vendor.
CHAPTER V
DISPUTE REDRESSAL MECHANISM
Redressal of grievances or resolution of disputes of street vendors.
20. (1) The appropriate Government may constitute one or more committees consisting of a Chairperson who has been a civil judge or a judicial magistrate and two other professionals having such experience as may be prescribed for the purpose of deciding the applications received under sub-section (2):
Provided that no employee of the appropriate Government or the local authority shall be appointed as members of the committee.
(2) Every street vendor who has a grievance or dispute may make an application in writing to the committee constituted under sub-section (1) in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of grievance or dispute under sub-section (2), the committee referred to in sub-section (1) shall, after verification and enquiry in such manner, as may be prescribed, take steps for redressal of such grievance or resolution of such dispute, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(4) Any person who is aggrieved by the decision of the committee may prefer an appeal to the local authority in such form, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(5) The local authority shall dispose of the appeal received under sub-section (4) within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the local authority shall, before disposing of the appeal, give an opportunity of being heard to the aggrieved person.
CHAPTER VI
PLAN FOR STREET VENDING
Plan for street vending.
21. (1) Every local authority shall, in consultation with the planning authority and on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee, once in every five years, prepare a plan to promote the vocation of street vendors covering the matters contained in the First Schedule.
(2) The plan for street vending prepared by the local authority shall be submitted to the appropriate Government for approval and that Government shall, before notifying the plan, determine the norms applicable to the street vendors.
CHAPTER VII
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