Bhayandar: The pick-and-choose policy adopted by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) coupled with highhandedness of bouncers deployed by private contractors during eviction drives and surveying of hawkers are under the scanner for massive corruption, manipulations and other irregularities.
Stung by the stepmotherly treatment, hawkers, led by Dayashankar Singh of the Azad Hawkers Union (AHU), staged a protest at the civic headquarters MBMC on Thursday.
The survey, envisaging counting of hawkers and demarcation of hawking zones, was initiated in response to the apex court directions to implement the Street Vendors’ (protection of livelihood and regulation of street vending) Act, 2014.
While the exercise attracted fly-by-night hawkers to earn a licence, civic officials and middlemen allegedly turned the survey into an opportunity to mint money by registering ineligible beneficiaries on fake documents.
“After the survey, we will invite objections and scrutinise the submitted documents to ensure that eligibility criteria is not violated,” claimed Deepak Pujari, the deputy civic chief.
“We will not only agitate but soon file a contempt petition against the MBMC for depriving the genuine vendors of their right to livelihood by deploying anti-social elements under the garb of privatising eviction drives,” Singh said.
The documents to be provided by the hawkers include a PAN card, Aadhaar card, voters’ ID and ration card. Existing street vendors, identified in the survey, have to be accommodated in the designated vending zones subject to a norm conforming to 2.5 per cent of the local population.
By Suresh Golani
