In a recent incident, a 56-year-old woman died when the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted a drive to evict street vendors from a ‘no-hawking zone’ at the NSC Bose Road junction. According to news reports, the woman, M Krishnaveni, was trying to protect her wares during the eviction drive. This incident has sparked widespread concern and reignited discussions on designating vending and non-vending zones fairly.

A series of such developments in Chennai have impacted both residents and street vendors. While residents raise issues like reduced walkability and increased garbage, vendors argue they need a proper space to sell their wares. In response, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) declared certain streets as vending zones.  

However, will simply declaring vending and non-vending zones solve the problem? While the GCC has taken many steps to regulate the street vending system, guidelines laid under the Street Vendors Act 2014, such as provisions for grievance redressal systems are often overlooked. Moreover, the larger problems of loss of livelihood due to eviction and relocation are rarely addressed.    

Street vendors, an integral part of the city

“Street vendors form a very important segment of the unorganised sector in the country. It is estimated that in several cities street vendors count for about 2 per cent of the population,” reads the National Policy on Street Vendors (2009). This policy note starts by recognising the positive role of street vendors in providing essential commodities to people at affordable prices and at convenient places.

This makes us go back to the basic definition of ‘street vendors’ and see what these new vending zones could mean for the street vendors as well as their consumers.

New street vending zones to come up in Chennai

The GCC is set to finalise 776 vending zones and 493 non-vending zones for nearly 35,588 registered street vendors in Chennai. Among these, Zone 5 (Royapuram) and Zone 13 (Adyar) will have the highest number of vending zones, while Zone 8 (Anna Nagar) will have the fewest.

‘Vending zone’ means an area, 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. This includes footpaths, sidewalks, pavement, embankments, portions of a street, waiting areas for the public or any such place considered suitable for vending activities and providing services to the general public.

If any new person wants to get permission for street vending in Chennai, they should approach the Town Vending Committee. The Committee may grant a certificate of vending subject to the scheme, the plan for street vending and the holding capacity of the vending zones.

“After the list of vending and non-vending zones was submitted to the Town Vending Committee, we told the GCC officials that we wanted to inspect the spots and interact with vendors in those areas before finalising the list. Following this, zone-level sub-committees with zonal authorities and 10 representatives from the vending committee were formed. Since August 30, we have been inspecting the spots,” says K Balaraman, a member of the Town Vending Committee.

However, according to Balaraman, Chennai possibly has at least 2 lakh street vendors (2% of the total population). The committee has recommended setting up an additional 297 vending zones. Of these, 100 zones have been proposed to be designated in Zone 10 (Kodambakkam).

Relocation affects the vendors’ business

Since many street vendors in Chennai were found to have fake ID cards, the GCC has also taken the initiative to provide chip-based ID cards for all 35,588 registered vendors. “We have received the corrections to be made. Once the vending and non-vending zones are finalised, the cards will be issued to all the vendors,” adds Balaraman.

Meanwhile, Subramanian, a street vendor at the NSC Bose Road junction, mentions that many vendors, including himself, have been working in the same locality for years and would lose their customers if they were relocated. “This area is well-known for street vending, and we have a steady flow of customers here. If the government provides us with an alternative location, we are unsure if we would have the same customer flow,” he notes.

According to the Act, the market areas where sellers and buyers have traditionally congregated for the sale and purchase of products or services could be determined as a ‘natural market’.

Read more: Bengaluru’s street vendors struggle with extreme heat, heavy rain, and limited options

No redressal mechanism for street vendors

If vendors like Subramanian want to raise their concerns, there is no mechanism in place for it in Chennai, despite the law making provisions for it.

The Town Vending Committee includes officials from various departments like health and traffic police to come up with a scheme that will bring in a holistic solution to both the vendors and the public. Citing the aforementioned part of the law, C Thiruvettai, President of Chennai Small-Scale Street Vendors Federation, says that GCC has not formed a grievance redressal committee in Chennai and this leaves no place for the street vendors to go to address their issues.

He also points out that Chennai has one Town Vending Committee, which has a representation of only six street vendors, for all 15 Zones. “How is it possible for one committee with such less street-vendor representation to inspect all the vending and non-vending zones across the 15 Zones in Chennai?” he asks, also pointing out that after the Town Vending Committee was formed in 2023, only three meetings have been held until recently.

Balaraman also points out that on days that they go to inspect the vending zones, the street vendors who are part of the Town Vending Committee lose their day’s income. “Though the GCC has agreed to pay a sitting fee of Rs 1,000 each to committee members as per the mandates of the Street Vendors Act, we have not received the amount with arrears yet,” he says.

The essence of the Street Vendors Act missing in fixing vending zones

The Street Vendors Act mandates that the local authorities prepare a plan to promote the vocation of street vendors in consultation with the planning authorities and on the recommendations of the Town Vending Committee once every five years. This plan should be submitted to the government for approval and the Government should first determine the norms applicable to the street vendors and then pass a notification.

Given that GCC has not come up with any such plans yet, Thiruvettai notes that the GCC should have first come up with this plan aimed at improving the lives and livelihood of the street vendors. “The vending zones should have been decided based on this plan. However, in Chennai vending and non-vending zones are fixed based on political pressure and to ease traffic flow,” he adds.

Karthikeyan, a resident of Purasaivakkam, says, “I would also like our locality to be like Pondy Bazar, where there are broad pedestrian pathways. But if I only have Rs 50 on a given day, I can get the food or vegetables at an affordable rate from the street vendors in my area. I prefer to have the street vendors in visible and accessible areas, but I would also like some regulation.”

A win-win solution

• Creating a five-year plan for street-vending
• Ensuring vendors keep the space clean and safe
• Making vending zones accessible to customers
• Ensuring proper walking space for pedestrians in vending zones
• Introducing grievance redressal cells for vendors.

Also read:

• Push government to implement all welfare measures in Street Vendors Act : Lekha Adavi
• More heat, less business: Street vendors struggle as temperatures soar in Mumbai