Proposal has not received a positive response from BMC
Mumbai : Congress Corporator Ajanta Yadav has proposed to the BMC that it should allow hawkers to occupy skywalks in Mumbai in order to unclog the city’s overcrowded footpaths. However, th is suggestion has not received a positive response from the BMC administration.
When asked about the proposal, Additional Municipal Commissioner Pallavi Darade said that the town vending committee is the executive authority for a decision on this proposal. This committee will be formed as per high court orders and will be responsible for demarcating hawking and non-hawking zones in Mumbai
Darade said, “We will consider the proposal even though it is not in the purview of the BMC.”
Explaining her proposal, Yadav said that the BMC has always been caught up between preserving the right to livelihood for hawkers and creating safe walking spaces for pedestrians. If hawkers are lifted off the streets and placed on skywalks, it will solve the long-pending debate. She said, “Skywalks are usually not used by pedestrians as they are deserted. If hawkers occupy them, they will become more populated and hence safe for use.”
When asked whether this will interfere with pedestrian traffic on skywalks, Darade said, “The BMC’s policy has always been ‘Pedestrians First’. However, we will ensure no injustice is caused to the hawkers and their livelihood in the process.”
Another hurdle that the civic body will face before it brings this idea to fruition is a state government-made act called the State Building Act, 2014. According to Sharad Bande, who heads the licences department of the BMC, the decision on this issue can be taken only by the state government, under the state building act. The BMC only forwards the concerned proposal to the state government.
However, Shashank Rao, who heads the hawkers’ union, has called the idea impractical. He said skywalks are actually built for pedestrians as footpaths are dangerous. If the BMC places hawkers on skywalks, they will only create another avenue to cry foul about illegal hawkers.
Rao said, “There are about 3 lakh hawkers in the city, which ones will be given space on skywalks? Most of these hawkers have not been inducted into the mainstream as the BMC has not issued fresh licences. The hawkers need to first be legalised.”
