ACKNOWLEGDEMENT - Econ-Jobs.com...ACKNOWLEGDEMENT Most acknowledgements begin with an expression of...

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT Most acknowledgements begin with an expression of gratitude towards many people without whom the project just “won’t be the same”. We stand guilty of the same offence. As undergraduate students of Economics, we needed the support of each person we mention below. And truly, without their support, guidance and expertise, this project just “won’t have been the same”.

We would like to thank our encouraging Principal‐ Dr S. Marina John, who unfailingly appreciated our efforts and boosted our morale during the highs and lows of the project .We are also ever grateful to our teachers ‐ ‐ Ms Rajini Singh, Dr. Daisy Sales and Dr. Renu Gupta for their continuous support during the project and the thrust they put on independent thinking.

Next , on our list comes Mr Madhav Raman (co‐founder, Anagram Architects), who was kind enough to take out his valuable time and guide us. He is one of the very rare species of architects whose knowledge about economics, society and the world would make many economists extremely envious.

A special mention of thanks goes out to our mentor Dr. Jacob John and Ms Seema Chalat for their valuable technical support on this project. We are indebted to them for their constant support and unparalleled expertise in the subject.

This note of acknowledgement would be incomplete without the mention of Mr. Ajay Maken‐ Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India who gave us an “insider’s perspective” on various policy issues.

We also extend thanks to Mr Henry Fathome, the architect who helped us develop the “vendor cart”. A special to Ms Anuradha and Ms Sadaf from NASVI for their guidance, valuable information and stimulating suggestions which helped us successfully complete this report with much ease.

We also thank Dhruv , Aditi , Kanika Gulia ,Ms Namita of SEWA for their help and guidance.

We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Ms Sylvia Lal, Mr Kailash, Mr Francis, Mr Nanak, Ms Pushpa, Mr Pathania, Mr Abhinav Srivastava and Mr Subhash.

Last, but certainly not the least, we take this opportunity to thank the ever smiling and obliging vendors. Although it did take us time to break ice with them, but once in, we were ever comfortable in conversing and communicating with them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.Introduction…………………………………………………………. 1

2.Money , Economics and vendors…………………........ 8

3.Social Mosaic ………………………………………………………… 17

4.The Legislating picture : Legal aspect…………………. 23

5.The Indispensable dependence : A consumer survey

analysis ……………………………………………………………...... 34

6. Working conditions: Harassments and hazards……. 40

7.A Sprinkle of our ingenuity: Innovations……………….. 50

8.Here and there :A comparative study …………………… 61

9.A conclusive word ………………………………………………….. 69

References

Appendix

1 INTRODUCTION

A typical day in a vegetable vendor’s life begins at an hour when most of us are deep in our

slumber- the dawn. His first and foremost priority is to acquire fresh vegetables from the ‘sabzi

mandi’, the quantity of which depends on how much he saved from yesterday. Upon

completion of these transactions, the average vegetable vendor makes his way to the colonies

where he dutifully takes rounds, in the hope of selling some of his goods.

Meanwhile, the families inhabiting these colonies use this convenient service to buy vegetables.

For the regular Indian customer of vegetables, supermarkets are still associated with

refrigerated vegetables while street vendors are taken to be the sellers of fresh produce. After

making his morning rounds and exhausting all possibilities of sale he makes his way to the

market where he squats for the rest of the day. His average day ends late at night, the number

of hours of work averaging at about 16 hours per day. The days when he is able to sell all his

perishable goods are the most profitable days for without sales and without facilities of

refrigeration, these goods are waste.

At home, the responsibilities of a family and the demands of living in a city in the form of piling

up bills mandate his attention. Bed time comes at 1:00 am- a mere 3 hours away from the time

when he needs to wake up. Sleep deprivation and exhaustion notwithstanding, the next

morning begins with the same routine.

Definition

A street vendor, simply, is defined as a person who offers goods for sale to the public at large

without having a permanent built up structure from which to sell. Street vendors may be

stationary in the sense that they occupy space on the pavements or other public/private spaces

or, they may be mobile in the sense that move from place to place by carrying their wares on

push carts or in baskets on their heads1.

1 http://nasvinet.org/newsite/

1

http://nasvinet.org/newsite/

NSS Estimates2

The following contain some figures that give the reader about the numerical significance of street

vendors in Delhi and India. The 50th round of NSSO (1993-94) estimates the number of street

vendors as a proportion of the population as follows:

Urban Area: 0.89%

Rural Area: 0.27%

Total number of street vendors (1991) = 3.6 million.

Recent estimates have shown that there are approximately 6, 00,000 in Delhi alone. The value

for Mumbai and Kolkata is estimated to be slightly higher.

Role in the society

According to the Department for Infrastructure and Economic cooperation, the informal sector

is that part of the economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government, its

income is also not included in the Gross National Product (GNP). Studies show that 25% of the

global population operates in the informal sector. Due to constant influx of people from rural

areas, this sector mobilizes 30% to 80% of the workforce especially the urban regions of

developing countries like India. In the year 2000, the informal economy was estimated at 104.7

billion USD in India.

The Bellagio International Declaration of street vendors 1995 observed that street vending is

mainly an informal, unrecognized trade the world over, despite the accelerating growth of the

sector owing to rapid urbanization3. The profession of vending has mainly grown out of the gap

between employment opportunities and burgeoning labor force and rapid migration from rural

areas to urban areas in search for better job opportunities and better living standards. The fall

in the self employment and the stagnation or even relative decline in formal working

arrangements indicate the great and growing significance of wage dependency in informal

sector employment. With casualisation of the mass of workers at the bottom of the economy,

migration to seasonal work sites becomes a key feature of pattern of work (Breman,J. 1995)4. In

2 http://nasvinet.org/newsite/

3 http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/interns2010/abhigna-as_different-ideas-for-licersing-street-vendors.pdf

4 V ulnerabilities and Insecurities of Informal Sector Workers by Helen R. Sekar.

http://www.vvgnli.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/

2


http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/interns2010/abhigna-as_different-ideas-for-licersing-street-vendors.pdf

http://www.vvgnli.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/Vulnerabilities%20and%20Insecurities%20of%20Informal%20Sector%20Workers%20A%20Study%20of%20Street%20Vendors.pdf

Mumbai, 20% of the hawkers were earlier employed as workers in organized sector (textile

mills) but had lost their jobs due to closure of mills (Bhowmik S.K. 2000)5

The growth of this sector has had positive effects on the stakeholders of an economic society,

especially the middle class. Although one cannot vouch for the quality of their goods, the prices

on their wares are much lower than those in high-end showrooms. Experienced shoppers who

have an eye for differentiating between faulty goods and quality goods are able to extract value

for their money. The existence of so many vendors has a downward pressure on the prices of

their goods which is beneficial to low income groups. The co-existence of showrooms and

vendors on either sides of the pavement ensures good competition between the two and an

ever-evolving quality of goods.

The profession of vending has also created self-employment opportunities in an economy

witnessing a faster growth rate in labor force than in employment avenues. This has reduced

the burden on the government in terms of the number of people it needs to create jobs for. For

these reasons, it is widely acknowledged by the reading class that street vendors are important

contributors to the functioning of an economy. However, since the profession is mostly chosen

by poor people, who are most vulnerable to exploitation, we see that the needs of the class of

street vendors are, more often than not, met with myopic indifference.

For instance, Police Act 34: The police have the authority to punish any person causing

obstruction, annoyance, or inconvenience to passengers or residents. Exposing goods for sale

comes within this purview. A person found guilty of these charges can be convicted and

arrested without a warrant and a fine can also be imposed on him/her. Such acts increase the

vulnerability of an already neglected section of the society and make them easy targets for

harassment and extracting bribes.

As of 2006 only two cities: Imphal and Bhuwaneshwar, have made provisions for street

vendors. There are 4 to 6 shops and 10 hawkers per thousand people. Kolkata has legalized

street vending. Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh

are the states which are formulating and implementing polices as per the national policy. In

Goa, street vendors have redesigned their markets with appealing kiosks and carts. 6

New licenses are being given only in New Delhi, Surat and Vadodra. Those with longest

experience in street vending deserve to be licensed first. 2.5 of urban population are street

5 V ulnerabilities and Insecurities of Informal Sector Workers by Helen R. Sekar.

http://www.vvgnli.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/ 6 DIFFERENT IDEAS FOR LICENSING STREET VENDORS ESPECIALLY IN INDIAN OLD CITIES by Abhigna AS


3



vendors. Had there been no street vendors in the cities, the plight of the urban poor would

have been worse. It is necessary to develop this sector of street vending.7

Objectives of the study

Our objectives lie in analyzing and estimating the social and economic contribution of street

vendors to the urban life and devising a methodology whereby they can be incorporated into

the urban structure without disturbing the aesthetic beauty and the architectural master plan

of the rapidly urbanizing and globalizing city of Delhi.

Qualitative Analysis

This study, qualitatively aims to portray the positive role that street vendors play in meeting the

everyday needs of the common man, the plight of this class and its problems, the role of the

government and the current developments in the field of administration and policy making.

Quantitative analysis

This study makes a quantitative analysis of occupational well-being in terms of average wages

received and its sufficiency, sources of credit, amount of economic activity generated and the

possibility of growth of income in a country that, on a fast track path to growth, is experiencing

rising inflation. Social and organizational well being in terms of work atmosphere, cooperation

from authorities, labor unions and their vendor welfare functions was also analyzed.

Innovations

This study has suggested four innovations that aim to resolve the various conflicts that arise in

the incorporation of street vendors into the urban life. In particular, impending tasks of

information asymmetries, lack of infrastructure and revenue generation are taken into

consideration.

The study presents a picture of street vendors that does not focus only on the social necessity

of treating them as micro-entrepreneurs (a commendable suggestion by the National Street

Vendors’ policy, 2009) but instead focuses on the economic gains to society that shall entail

upon their social and legal integration into the society.

Methodology

7 DIFFERENT IDEAS FOR LICENSING STREET VENDORS ESPECIALLY IN INDIAN OLD CITIES by Abhigna AS


4


The methodology adopted for our study contains an eclectic mix of field surveys and data

analysis, which usually form the backbone of such projects and a thrust on innovation and

building up of a model that contains the element of freshness and newness that is often missing

in most research studies.

Policy recommendations are often the most frequently suggested solutions- and,

unsurprisingly, they are the easiest solutions to suggest. Our study encompasses within its

frontiers the very essence of what the terms “research” and innovation” ideally mean.

For the field surveys, keeping in mind the requirements of a representative and numerically

adequate data, we decided to survey vendors by dividing the geographical area of Delhi into 5

zones- North, South, East, West and Central. In each zone, a few main markets that bore the

very essence of the area were selected.

Through market inspection and prior information relating to the various kinds of vendors that

make a living out of these markets, we made sure that our samples from within the markets

were representative as well.

A total of 1,100 street vendors (both mobile and immobile) were surveyed from the following

markets in Delhi:

1. North: Razapur market, Daryaganj, Chandni Chowk

2. West: Karol bagh, Dwarka sector 21, Punjabi Bagh

3. South: Sarojini nagar, Lajpat nagar, Yusuf Sarai, INA market

4. East: Mandavali, Madhu Vihar

5. Central: India gate, Connaught place, Flower market

Our project started with a series of meetings and focused group discussions with our

department teachers and our mentor. This was followed by preparation of a questionnaire for

the vendor as well as the consumers. The structure of the designed questionnaire was such that

it assessed the well-being in the occupation of vending. The main factors that decide wellbeing

are income earned against expenditure, existence of any kind of union to fight for the rights of

the group, average size of the family and number of breadwinners, the existence of harassment

faced by the group and its frequency, among others. To check the viability of the

questionnaires we conducted a pilot survey. After we had finalized our questionnaire we

started with the field survey.

We have used interview schedule for the hawkers and vendors. Sample survey for both has

been conducted keeping in mind their percentage in the population. Also, we have taken due

care of making sure the sample taken is representative in terms of the nationality of hawkers

(whether illegal immigrants face more threats and abuse than natives is a question that is likely

5

to be answered by this). We were able to gather all our information and have arranged it in the

forms of tables, which were processed using Microsoft Excel.

This study is not restricted to street vendors alone but tries to relate the profession in the wider

urban context by examining legal status of hawkers, their contribution to the economy, the

perception of the population towards them and their position in society. Based on the above

information our report will examine the problem of street vendors, customers (residents)and

the municipal council for whom the street vendors pose a problem and possible means of

overcoming them. Thus it is not only an economics related project but presents a holistic

picture which studies a socio-legal aspects which have a bearing on their economic status.

The intention of including male, female and child vendors in the survey, was to assess the

unique conditions posed by the profession to each group in terms of income, product sold and

credit availability.

The following is an overview of our results from data analysis:

1. 86% of the vendors surveyed were male, 14% were female.

2. 61% of the vendors hailed from Bihar.

3. Majority of the vendors sold clothes, jewelry and vegetables.

4. 57% of the vendors earned a monthly income between Rs 1000-3000.

5. The frequency of borrowing rated from occasionally to frequently for 68% of the vendors.

6. 77% of the vendors have been subject to some kind of harassment. 73 % of the

harassed vendors have reported monetary harassment and confiscation of property.

Given the conclusions of the survey, various studies conducted in other cities by noteworthy

personalities like Sharit K. Bhowmik were analyzed in an effort to draw a parallel between Delhi

and other major cities of India. Based on this, it was found that Delhi posed unique conditions

for street vendors in many ways, including the architectural plans of markets, paucity of space

in markets deciding space allocation for each licensed vendor and vendors possessing stay

orders etc. Therefore, this study exclusively focuses on Delhi and its resident street vendors.

Organization of the report

This research report aims to study different aspects in the lives of street vendors by methods of tables, pie charts and graphs to make the analysis pictographically pleasing. The study begins with a preamble about the economic aspects of the lives of street vendors. As students of economics, our study heavily emphasizes on this facet and browses through topics like availability of start-up capital and working capital and also comments on the degree of financial deepening and financial inclusion that India has been able to achieve post 6 decades of Independence. It also estimates the level of economic contribution in terms of adding to the State Domestic Product (SDP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

6

Any analysis about an economically and socially vulnerable group is incomplete without delving into the social aspect of the problem. Since Economics is a social science, studying this subject in isolation from its social implications may render the analysis futile. Hence, our next chapter explores the social component of the lives of street vendors.

A significant proportion of the problems that any marginalized section of the population faces arise from being devoid of any legal recognition and the absence of rights. Our next chapter deals with this very issue. It brings to light the policy contradictions and the exploitation that is the life of street vendors.

Since the beginning of this report, we have often mentioned about the importance of street vendors for the consumers. We have, in passing, stated that the needs of the vendors and the consumers for one another are bilateral and no one group is solely dependent on the other. Our next chapter deals with consumer survey analysis and tried to decipher the extent of significance that street vendors command in the everyday lives of people.

Our chapter of innovations is the thrust of this “Innovative project”. This chapter highlights all the innovations that we propose as solutions to the problems of street vending in Delhi.

Preceding our concluding remarks (which contain some additional suggestions to the problem) is our chapter on “International Perspective”. As is universal knowledge, street vendors are not aboriginal to India. They are conspicuous sections of the economy in a majority of countries around the world. This chapter gives us an insight about the situation of vendors in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan amongst other countries. This chapter is crucial in giving a holistic perspective to our vision of street vendors and their problems.

Problems faced in the implementation of the project

7

Majority of the difficulties faced in the course of the project are concentrated in the period when the survey was conducted . Many of the vendors were hesitant in answering questions posed by the questionnaire. In cases where we got answers after much coaxing, there were doubts regarding the authenticity of the answers . There were times when we got different answers to questions asked more than once. Hence, the duplicity of answers may have led to some amount of inefficiency. Also some vendors did not reveal their exact incomes even on persuasion which created a problem for us while tabulating the data. Vendors were usually shy in answering questions related to their social status for example queries regarding harassment, hafta they pay to the MCD officials etc. These problems were related to interacting with the vendors and finding out exact answers to the desired questions. The research project is one of its kind initiative taken by the university , but this should have been supplemented by some workshops/sessions which will acquaint the students with research methodologies and techniques. Carrying on the project completely on our own and being new to the field was a really a challenge for us and would have wanted some mentoring by experts in the field.

2 MONEY, ECONOMICS

AND VENDORS

Street vendors form an essential part of all economies in general, and economies like India in particular. What makes the Indian scenario so compatible with street vending is a mix of the traditional mindset of people, middle income society, widespread formal sector unemployment, the process of urbanization that is still largely underway and the like. Street vending, thus, constitutes the very essence of Indian markets, attracting all age groups- from school children to college goers, from the housewife who wants to strike a good bargain to the working woman who is not able to take time out to go to supermarkets and essentially all income backgrounds.

Street vendors contribute towards the economy in a number of ways. “The street and pavement vendors form a substantial proportion of the informal sector who earn their livelihood through vending. They have flexible vending hours ensuring the economic viability and dynamism of the city. It also creates employment, thereby alleviating the hardships of unemployment.”(Sekar, Helen R.)1.

Write about unemployment as a cost- Amartya sen’s view of unemployment

Over 25% of the workers globally operate in the informal sector. Vending as a profession has been carried out all along in the known history and it has been an integral part of both urban and rural culture.

This class of informal workers provides a multitude of invaluable services to the society, and to the economy as a whole. “Our local sabzi-wala (vegetable vendor) delivers fresh, low priced vegetables to our doorstep each morning… makes our life much easier.” says the smiling Mrs. Mridula Gupta- a South Delhi housewife we interviewed during our survey.

8

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF DELHI STREET VENDING

“By and large, vendors can be classified into two categories: stationary and mobile. Stationary

vendors usually occupy a portion of the streets/pavements. They can be big or small. The mobile

vendors are generally smaller in economic terms as compared to the former. They may carry

their stuff on push carts, rickshaws, head stands, or in bags. In most cities, stationary vendors

outnumber the mobile vendors. In Delhi the proportion of stationary vendors is 71.5” (Bhowmik

and Saha, 2012)2.

The economic aspects of Delhi Street vending can be analyzed under the following categories, subdivided for clarity in understanding:

Nature of Items Sold:

The vendors deal with a number of different items, fresh vegetables, fruits, plastic ware, earthen ware, kitchen ware, cosmetics, artificial jewellery, books and food items- to name a few. According to our survey, 30.5% vendors sell eatables (ready-to-eat snacks), 21% sell vegetables and fruits, 18.8% sell clothes and 18.7% sell jewellery and other decorative items. Figure 1 illustrates this division. It is easy to make note of the fact that street vending in Delhi is dominated by perishable food items (54%).

21%

3%

19%

19%

3%

30%

5%

Category of item sold

Vegetables

Dairy products

Decorative items

Clothes

Earthen ware

Eatables

Miscellaneous

FIGURE 1 :

9

Incomes of Street vendors:

A typical street vendor of Delhi earns Rs. 20,000 on an average per month. With the demands of vending expenditure (which includes stock, rent, bribes, interest etc.) coupled with general household expenditure, a typical street vendor more often than not finds himself under the burden of debt.

With the aforementioned economic conditions our typical Delhi street vendor supports a family of 5-6 on an average. “Din mein 12 ghante kaam karne ke baad mushkil se din ka Rs. 200 ho pata hai” (After working for 12 hours, I barely manage to make Rs. 200 a day) says the old-wrinkled Savitri, who makes her living selling bangles on a pavement of Connaught Place. An average street vendor spends 10-12 hours in the market and works for 7 days a week.

“A majority of vendors have chosen to vending in order to have a regular source of income

whereas, for one-third of the vendors the reason for choosing vending is gaining independence

and an identity separate from that of the subsistence family agriculture that they are generally

born into. Supplementing the family income was the reason behind choosing vending for 13% of

the vendors. Over one-fifth of the child vendors had chosen vending in order to sustain

themselves and for 34% there was a need to supplement hr family income. Children who chose

to vend in order to a regular source of income constituted 43%. For the remaining age group the

pattern remains more or less the same.” (Helen, Sekar R., ?)3.

While this is the scenario on an average, there are many contrasts when one takes a deeper look into matters. As Albert Einstein said “Things should be as simple as possible, not simpler” and along this philosophy we present below two examples that highlight the stark realities of street vending in Delhi.

Kishan sells vegetables in the Sewa Nagar market of South Delhi and earns up to Rs. 60,000 per month earning a profit margin of about Rs. 20,000-30,000. Other members of his family also earn significantly higher amounts of money than is the average for him. “Humare paas do gaadiyan hain madam ji” (We have two cars), says he, with a big proud smile on his face. In stark contrast is the 72 year old Hari who has occupied a dirty corner of the street selling earthen pots since the past 35 years. His meager income of around Rs. 5000/ month barely manages to keep up with his families growing expenses. With an ailing wife in need of a cataract surgery and 4 daughters yet to be married, he is pitifully sure of the bleakness that is his future.

Ironically, Hari and Kishan work in the same market.

Such a disparity persists in the whole of Delhi and according to numerous studies-all over India.

Our analysis reveals that 21% of the vendors’ families earn less than Rs. 10,000 /month while only 0.9% earn more than Rs. 50,000/month. At face value, this might seem a reasonable amount. Delving deeper, we are confronted with stark realities. This meager income of Rs. 10,000/month when spread over 6 members of an average family, it factors down to about Rs. 55 per day per person without accounting for the daily expenditure.

10

After battling with the urban cost of living, what remains is a hand-to-mouth existence that needs to be supplemented with borrowings to make ends meet. These create what can be termed as the dieal conditions for an ongoing cycle of poverty and deprivation. With little or no income left for savings, these families cannot afford education for their children and generation after generation heads towards the same misfortune.

There are about 35% vendors who earn Rs. 10,000-20,000/month, the median vendor according to income data from our survey lies in this class. Another 21% vendors each fall in income brackets Rs.20, 000-30,000 and Rs.30, 000-50,000.

As mentioned above, the monthly expenditures of street vendors usually overgrow or are equal

to the gross income earned. With most of them trapped in the burden of debt, the prospect of

savings is quite low for such people. “Only one-third of the total vendors reported that they save

from their earnings and the remaining do not save for future and when there is some emergency

including medical, they borrow money from relatives and neighbors. Many of them had to send

money to support their family members at the native place… among those who were saving

money, while 60% kept their savings n the Bank, around 10% of the vendors have been saving in

the post office.” (Sekar, Helen R,)4.

The following graph illustrates shows clearly the income distribution of the respondents.

Market specific analysis also brings forth certain aspects of different markets. It is easily noticeable that the modal income class in all the major markets surveyed is the Rs. 10,000-20,000 per month class. According to the analysis, street vendors in Lajpat Nagar, one of the major markets of Delhi, are strikingly better off than their counterparts in other less popular and smaller markets. Moreover, the analysis concludes that as soon as a market is hit by social turbulence in the form of impending displacement or eviction of street vendors, their incomes decline and they typically reach lower levels of welfare both economically and socially. The India gate market which supports over 5000 street vendors is a case in point. Furthermore, market specific analysis has much to say about the importance that location plays in

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

11

determining the incomes of vendors. While in markets that are quintessential shopping destinations of Delhi (like Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Daryaganj), there is a wide variety of street vendors- rich and poor, educated and uneducated, women and men. On the other hand, some markets like Connaught Place and India gate (where markets flourish for reasons other than street vendors), the vendors typically earn lower incomes as seen in the space of the incomes of their other counterparts in Delhi.

Micro Level Financing of Street Vendors

In 1974, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel prize winning economist from Bangladesh, led

his students on a field trip to a poor village. They interviewed a woman who made bamboo

stools, and learnt that she had to borrow the equivalent of 15p to buy raw bamboo for each

stool made. After repaying the middleman, she was left with a penny profit margin. Had she

been able to borrow at more advantageous rates, she would have been able to amass an

economic cushion and raise herself above subsistence level.

Realizing that there must be something terribly wrong with the economics he was teaching,

Yunus took matters into his own hands. He found that it was possible with this tiny amount not

only to help them survive, but also to create the spark of personal initiative and enterprise

necessary to pull themselves out of poverty.

Against the advice of banks and government, Yunus carried on giving out 'micro-loans', and in

1983 formed the Grameen Bank founded on principles of trust and solidarity. In Bangladesh

today, Grameen has 2,564 branches, with 19,800 staff serving 8.29 million borrowers in 81,367

villages.(http://www.grameen-info.org)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

C.P.

India Gate

Lajpat Nagar

Sarojini Nagar

Daryaganj

12

An initiative by Dr Yunus, microfinance is creating waves in various countries around the world. Today, microfinance forms the backbone of financing the poorest of the poor in over 50 countries around the world.

There are few groups as vulnerable and defenseless as the street vendors in India. Unrecognized by law, they carry on their business amidst massive insecurity. While some are “born” into this business, inheriting it from their fathers and forefathers (the quintessential examples being the vendors of Old Delhi), others enter it as “first generation micro-entrepreneurs”.

Depending on the type of goods sold, the startup capital requirements vary. For smaller items like artificial jewellery, the startup financial capital can be as low as Rs 150. Other items like handicrafts function on loans taken from the manufacturer. For vendors of fruits and vegetables, the most common form of startup capital is usually the vending cart.

For a migrant vendor (as is usually the case), obtaining formal credit is the destination that is rife with hurdles of documentation, collateral, identification proof, address proof and so on. This destination is, more often than not, unreachable. Problems of documentation and collateral aside, obtaining loans from the formal financial institutions that are marked by strictness and inflexibility is often undesirable.

“Nearly all credit transactions are between relatives or between households in the same village”-Partha Dasgupta (2007)

There are various sources from where the startup capital is usually obtained. These include Money Lenders, Relatives, Organized Sector, and Retained Earnings. The following table shows the results of our field survey analysis:

Sources of startup capital for Vendors

Source Percentage

Money lender 13

Relatives and friends 40.6

Organized financial sector 1.4

Own funds 23.5

Others 21.5

Total 100

According to our survey, a significant 40.6% of the street vendors resorted to borrowing from friends and relatives. In rural economy, trust and mutual enforcement of informal contracts is the primary method whereby transactions take place (ASVI, 2007).

13

Our field survey analysis is in consonance with these results. The low rates of interest on a majority of these loans point towards the existence of some form of quid pro quo arrangements amongst these social groups.

For 23.5% the startup capital for the current venture was financed by personal savings accumulated from previous ventures. This points towards the comparatively low level of financial deepening in the country where one has the potential to invest only when one has the savings required for the same. A marginally smaller number of 21.5% people said that they used other funds. From what could be gauged by means of field surveys, “other funds” usually referred to borrowing from the producer of the product that the vendors sell on a monthly basis and returning the money after sales were made, only to be a part of a financially larger cycle the next time around.

Out of the total number of vendors, 13% resorted to borrowing from money lenders at considerably high rates of interest. A range of 5-10% per month on borrowed amounts was seen to be fairly common.

In line with the views of financial markets and their restricted accessibility for the poor, only 1.4% of the total vendors borrowed from formal financial institutions.

The low percentage of vendors who turned to financial sector for getting loans points towards the complex structure and requirements that loans entail which automatically pushes vendors towards informal sources of finance.

A priori, the source of loans would not be of much importance to an impartial by-stander or even a policy maker had the rates of interest in formal institutions be at par with those in the money market. However, the rates of interest vary substantially with the source of the credit- with formal institutions charging substantially lesser than informal ones even after taking into account the fact that essentially bad credit risks (like street vendors) pay a higher rate of interest at the margin than an average borrower.

In most cases the funds borrowed from friends and family had the lowest rates of interest while funds borrowed from moneylenders had the highest. Our field survey also shows that a majority of the vendors did not pay any interest on the capital borrowed from friends and family making it relatively easy for them to start their business- one of the reason why many people are attracted to this profession.

Rate of interest paid on startup capital

Rate Percentage

1-5 31.5

6-10 7.6

11-15 11.5

More than 15 10.4

14

Do not know 39

Total 100

The table above displays the results of the field survey analysis conducted on street vendors of Delhi. A significant 10.4% of the vendors paid an interest of more than 15% per month on the loan amounts borrowed.

For the purpose of emphasizing the magnitude of this burden on a person with little or no economic cushion, consider a person who has borrowed Rs 100 in the beginning on the year. By the end of January, he is liable to pay Rs 115 to the money lender. If unpaid, the debt at the end of the second month (February) comes out to be Rs 132.25 (applying the compound rate of interest that was seen to be more prevalent that the simple rate of interest). At the end of 6 months, the amount due be paid is Rs 201.135- more than double the amount initially borrowed.

It is these high rates of interest that make financial inclusion and widening the net of banking system so relevant in the present day world.

For the street vendors, the income is a function of the seasons. The amount of economic activity that street vendors generate in the form of sales and purchases depends upon seasons and generally the lean season is picked out to be winter- the months from October –February for Delhi. It is during these months that vendors often face a shortfall of income vis-à-vis the expenditures and hence have to resort to short term loans. Besides, financing working capital is the second most important motivation for short term loans.

Most of the vendors that need to borrow funds during their business cycle are those who sell non- perishable goods.

Source of credit for Vendors

Source Percentage

Money lender 5.1



Own funds 15.3

Others 15

No response 45.5

Total 100

The above table shows fairly anticipated values for borrowings under each head. This pattern is an extension of the pattern of borrowing observed in case of startup capital. Besides borrowing, the analysis demands studying the frequency of borrowing since borrowing per say should not and does not carry a negative connotation. Borrowing for expansion of businesses and expanding the scale of operations may, in fact, be a positive turn in the lives of street vendors allowing them to diversify their sources of income and fluff up their economic cushion.

15

Frequency of borrowing

Frequency Percentage

Occasionally 30

Frequently 38

Hardly ever 13.5

Do not know 18.5

Total 100

The high frequency of borrowing, majorly for personal reasons, indicates towards the difficulties that many vendors face in making ends meet. The weak financial status, that demands that loans be taken to meet needs especially during major family events, is a concern being battled by many organizations for the welfare of the economically weaker sections.

Microfinance is an option that is both viable and imbued with potency with regards to the betterment of street vendors. Since globalization (the essence of which is specified in the Solow growth model) entails a continuous upward revision of the standard of living, establishing a system of microfinance that can prove as a stepping stone towards greater economic well being is the need of the hour. In a capital scare bureaucratic country like India, microfinance is the answer to this complex question since it requires little infrastructure and has spelled success in various parts of the world.

Also, 82% of the vendors surveyed are self-employed while only 18% are wage-earners.

Income Aspect:

Debt, which is ‘not good’ per se, is worse for these street workers because devoid of any legal identification and collateral, they end up borrowing at high interest rates from informal sources. Mostly, the loans are inter-linked for eg. a vendor may take a loan from fellow vendors, relatives, friends, suppliers etc. The stringent rules and requirements of the banking sector make it difficult, almost impossible for such people to access formal loans. Thus, a micro-finance/formal banking loan system would be quite successful in such an area because the demand for credit is so high.

16

3 SOCIAL MOSAIC

It is estimated that the total number of street vendors in the country is around 10 million.8They comprise around 2% of the total population in the metropolitan cities.9According to National Commission on Labour, street vendors are identified as self-employed workers in the informal sector who offer their labour for selling goods and services on the street without having any permanent built-up structure. Street vendors provide market for home-based manufacturing product and as well as agricultural products. In this way, they help sustain employment in these home-based and small-scale industries and traditional sector. “Street vendors prop up urban rich to provide daily requirements as available on their doorsteps because some street vendors built up their profession in front of housing complexes (Tiwari, 2000). Urban youth prefer to purchase clothes and other accessories from them because products sold by them are typically cheaper than those found in formal retail outlets. On the other side, lower income group people also benefit and spend a higher portion of their income on purchase from street vendors because their goods are cheap and affordable. It was estimated around 30 percent of Mumbai workforce have at least one meal a day from vendors (Bhowmik, 2001). Thus, they are in fact the solution to some of the problems of the urban woe-stricken people.”10

In our study in Delhi, we found out that the street vendors are predominantly Bihari male migrants between the ages of 19-40 years. A large proportion of them (ie. ~70%) have education up to the primary or secondary levels, though a quarter of them are also illiterate. Yet, over four-fifths of them can be defined as micro-entrepreneurs. In this chapter the focus is on the social status of the sample vendor population in DELHI.

Demographic Factors

Gender: According to our study the street vendor industry is male dominant with 86% of the vendors being male. The reasons behind this can be varied. Some of the primary reasons that one comes across during interviews seem to be security issues and lack of adequate facilities like toilets and child care for females.

The results of our study are consistent with the results of a study conducted by ILO on the conditions of ‘Decent Working life’ of street vendors in Mumbai. It states-“Street vending

8 Government of India, National Policy for Urban Street Vendors/Hawkers, Ministry of Urban Employment and

Poverty Alleviation, 2004. www.meupa/nic.in on http://www.india-

seminar.com/2006/568/568_sharit_k_bhowmik.htm 9 http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/568/568_sharit_k_bhowmik.htm

10 http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/protection/travail/pdf/rdwpaper27c.pdf

17

http://www.meupa/nic.in

http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/568/568_sharit_k_bhowmik.htm



http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/protection/travail/pdf/rdwpaper27c.pdf

profession is mainly male oriented occupation in Mumbai. The sex composition of the street vendors in the study area demonstrates that there are around 77 percent of the vendors is men vendors and about 23 percent is women”.

Gender: Vendors

Gender Percentage

Male 86

Female 14

Age: A substantial proportion of the vendor population (44%) lies in the age group of 26-40 years. This shows that a significant proportion of the vendors are the “youth” thus giving some credibility to the accusations of “jobless growth” in the Indian economy over the past two decades.

The figure of 11% of the vendors as being below the age of 18 years generates some concern over the universalization of education as an achievable goal. The observation that only 2% of the vendors were aged above 56 years indicates that vending as an occupation that absorbs a noteworthy proportion of the labor force has been a relatively recent phenomenon. Or that it is strenuous and is therefore a job for the young.

Age: Vendors (%)

Age group Vendor

0-18 11

19-25 31

26-40 44

41-55 12

56 and above 2

Total 100

Origin: More than half of the street vendors of Delhi have migrated from Bihar, constituting 61% of the population of vendors in Delhi. This might be an indication towards particularly low

18

level of employment generation for the youth by the state. Ironically, this not the situation now.Under the leadership of Mr. Nitish Kumar,the chief minister of Bihar policies aswell as jobs have been created in factories and other places which has resulted in “Reverse Migration”

Home State of venders

States Percentage

Bihar 61

UP 1.6

Rajasthan 1.5

Haryana 29

Nepal 1.1

Bangladesh, others 5.8

Total 100

A significant proportion (29%) is from the neighboring state of Haryana. Other constituents of the vending population in Delhi are UP (1.6%) and Rajasthan (1.5%).

About 7% of the population comprises of immigrants from the neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh etc. The low percentage of migrants from Bangladesh and other neighboring countries indicates that vending as a profession attracts very little of the migrant population from the various neighboring countries . While some of this might be due to hindrances in entry, other reasons might include lack of contacts to get loans for starting these small-time businesses. Also, migrating to another country to carry out a low paid profession also increases the cost of living which in turn decreases the living standards. Some also face the language barrier and have difficulty in interacting with the consumers. Some vendors also come across the problem of being “outsiders”.Thus, they fail to get their share of due recognition.

Educational status: A significant proportion of 24% of the vendors are illiterate. While 69% of the vendors are educated at the primary or secondary level, a mere 7% of them have pursued higher education or vocational training. These figures give many controversial indications. While it is true that the lack of education curtails opportunities and options for earning a living, many vendors despite undergoing higher education training had to resort to vending as a profession. During field surveys, many vendors that we came across were graduates who turned to vending because of a lack of availability of jobs.

Education of the Respondents

19

20

Education level Percentage

Illiterate 24

Primary Education 32

Secondary 37

Higher 6

Vocational training 1

Total 100

The poor popularity of vocational courses amongst the vendors shows the lack of demand or a demand‐supply gap that exists in this field.

A study conducted in Mumbai concludes that the educational level among street vendors is generally low. Out of total vendors covered by them, around 17 percent vendors are illiterate, about 8.5 percent of total vendors can sign only, and about 8.5 percent have only primary level of education. Some of vendors having graduation, about 1.5 percent of total vendors (table 2), came from the rural areas in search of better‐paid job in the formal sectors in Mumbai but street vending is one of the easiest means of earning for livelihood as it requires minor financial input. Hence, they became street vendors.11

Employment Pattern:

Employment pattern is primarily that of self employment, with 82% ofthe vendors being self employed, and only 18% working as wage earners. This indicates that a momentous proportion of all vendors are actually small‐time entrepreneurs. In many developed countries, these small time entrepreneurs are considered to be the back bone of the economy since they reduce pressures upon the government and the capitalist system to generate jobs for all entrants into the labour market. Gujarat, the state that has been in the news for high economic growth, has been the home to some of the greatest entrepreneurs.

11 http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/protection/travail/pdf/rdwpaper27c.pdf


Vendor – employment pattern

Employment pattern Percentage

Self employed 82

Wage earner 18

Total 100

According to the level of income, NCEUS (2007) has also categorised workers (including street vendors) in the unorganised sector. Interestingly, NCEUS has found around 75 percent self-employed workers belong to poor and vulnerable group in the unorganised sector in India and only around 25 percent belong to high income group. Hence, according to NCEUS, street vendors are located in the low income self-employed group of workers those who are poor and vulnerable.12

Housing Conditions: As part of our field survey to access the living condition of vendors we went to several colonies in Delhi to visit their houses. We observed that most of them lived in poor conditions with non availability of basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, toilet, separate rooms and a proper kitchen. Most of them being migrants lived in houses on rent. Those living in their own houses had to accommodate all family members in just one room. Majority of the houses did not have adequate space, proper ventilation, more than one room or separate space for kitchen.

Social security: According to the estimates of International Labour Organisation(ILO), half of the world’s population has no social security coverage and only one-quarter of world’s population has adequate social security coverage (Ginneken 2003). In contrast, there are only around 8 percent of total workers covered in India. This is because about 92 percent of total workforce is employed informally.The vending profession is full of insecurity and uncertainty since they occupy road side and accidents occur at any time (Anjaria 2006). Since they do not have access any government assisted social security, they manage themselves. However, it is seen that around 88 percent street vendors don’t know even the term ‘social security’.13

The vendors do not have safety nets like social security or welfare benefits like pension, gratuity, bonus and holidays. They are not even provided with any health benefits or insurance by the government as they belong to the unorganized sector. Most of them live in small hutments in unauthorized colonies with no facilities of sanitation.

Well known activist, Renana Jhabwala of the Self Employed Women’s Assosiation(SEWA) points out in her essay ‘Roles and Perceptions of Street Vendors’- “They are covered by a multitude of

12

Ibid 13


21


laws, from municipal, traffic and criminal to railways and other acts covering parks and public spaces. They are not recognised as workers and hence have no protection of their rights”.

According to a study, “Street vendors are mainly those who are unsuccessful or unable to get regular jobs. This section of the urban poor tries to solve their problems through their own meager resources. Unlike other sections of the urban population they do not demand that government create jobs for them, nor do they engage in begging, stealing or extortion. They try to live their life with dignity and self-respect through hard work. The study on street vendors in seven cities shows that their average earnings range between Rs 40 and Rs 80 per day. Women vendors earn even less. These people work for over 10 hours a day under grueling conditions on the streets and are under constant threat of eviction. This plays havoc with their lives. A study of street vendors in Mumbai conducted by SNDT Women’s University and ILO shows that an overwhelming majority of them suffer from ailments related to stress – hyperacidity, migraine, hypertension, loss of sleep, among others.”14

Conclusion

Street vendors may populate our urban streets in multitude, but despite their numbers and their constant presence their life is rife with insecurity. Their social conditions are partly defined by their uncertain legal status and partly by their tough economic conditions.

Providing them with some kind of recognition or status will lead to betterment of the services they provide as well as it would lead to wholesome advancement of all section of the society.

14


22


4 THE LEGISLATING

PICTURE: THE LEGAL ASPECT One of the main problems that the street vendors face in today’s scenario is that there is no clearly defined legal status for their profession. Although the constitution very clearly and explicitly grants the right to livelihood to street vendors, we have existing laws and policies in the system that contradict one another and fail to provide a legitimate status to them. This section of the informal workers forms a major part of the urban cities of today. In fact, some may feel that they are too visible and that their overbearing presence on the streets (and pavements) is a menace for commuters. The civic authorities in most cities treat these “intruders” in public spaces as a nuisance. The urban elites view them as eye sores. On the other hand the urban poor, especially the working poor, view street vendors as a boon.

The legal status of the vendors and the laws/policies implemented in their respect are not concrete, even ambiguous sometimes. There is a need to have a clear understanding of these policies.

Honourable Minister of Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Ajay Maken’s, remarks also point towards the fact that there is an exigent requirement of regularizing these micro entrepreneurs:

“Reign of fear and terror of municipal bodies and police against street vendors must stop and the right to secured and dignified livelihood must be ensured through effective legislation.”15

Articles 39 (a) and (b) of the Constitution clearly mention that the State shall in particular direct its policy so that -

(a) The citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.

15

Press Information Bureau ,Government of India

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

23

(b) The ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub serve the common good.

THE QUEST FOR LEGISLATION

The issues regarding the legality of street vending and the right to carry on their business have plagued vendors for long. India is amongst the few countries that have developed a National Policy on Urban Street Vendors. It has taken a step towards recognizing their contribution to the society and economy. The policy was adopted in 2004 with the objective of providing and promoting a supportive environment for street vendors to earn livelihoods, while at the same time reducing congestion and maintaining sanitary conditions in public spaces and streets.

In India, a national policy constitutes a statement of intent by the Government. It does not have the legal weight that a law has; rather, it directs national, state and local governments to take action on relevant issues so that the policy may be implemented. A policy often is a prelude to a law, and provides a framework within which a law may be further developed. Therefore what exists now is policy and not a law. [WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No.2]16

The Supreme Court recognizes the positive contributions made by street vendors thus recognize the pivotal role played by street vendors in the urban economy. NASVI and other organizations of street vendors who expressed a concern that street vendors continued to face harassment and insecurity despite the Supreme Court judgments recognizing their rights. A national policy of street vendors was introduced in 2004 though lacked implementation at the state level and thus in October 2010 (organizations like NASVI) called on the government to enact a law on street vending. [WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No.2]3

Following are the recommendations offered for revising the policy (2004 ONE) to make the most important aspects of policy implementation more specific:

Emphasize the role of Town Vending Committees, to be constituted by municipal officials and street vendor representatives, in managing and monitoring the policy’s implementation in each locality according to local conditions. Informed by the 2006 report, the Government of India issued a revised policy in 2009.

A model law was framed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in 2009 known as, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2009. The law is supposed to be based on the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors laid down by National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector. [Bhowmik – 2010]17 This bill has not been introduced in Parliament so far.

A significant breakthrough came with the Supreme Court judgment on Sodhan Singh vs New Delhi Municipal Corporation. [Bhowmik – 2010]18 Singh, a vendor in New Delhi’s Janpat area

16

http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Sinha_WIEGO_PB2.pdf 17

http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/Selected_Publications/Legalising_SV.pdf

18


24

http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Sinha_WIEGO_PB2.pdf



was frequently evicted and his goods confiscated. He appealed to the Supreme Court through a public interest litigation claiming that the action violated his fundamental rights, more specifically his right to carry on business or trade.

2009 Policy Objectives

This Policy recognizes that street vendors constitute an integral and legitimate part of the urban retail trade and distribution system for daily necessities of the general public. As the street vendors assist the Government in combating unemployment and poverty, it is the duty of the State to protect the right of these micro-entrepreneurs to earn an honest living. Accordingly, the Policy aims to ensure that this important occupational group of the urban population finds due recognition at national, state and local levels for its contribution to the society.

The 2009 Policy is organized around seven specific objectives

Legal status

Civic facilities

Transparent regulation

Organization of vendors

Participative processes

Self regulation

Promotional measures However, while going through the bill one finds some major discrepancies in its contents and the national policy. There are four basic issues which the bill ignores starting with the issue of preserving natural markets. These markets spring up in places where the consumers find them useful. Hence there will be street vendors outside railway stations and bus depots. People returning from a tiring day at work would rather purchase their necessities from these vendors rather than make a detour and go to the market situated a few kilometers away. Natural markets serve the interests of the people and they are convenient. The national policy suggests that instead of forcibly removing such markets the municipalities should try to regularize them by allotting space. Unfortunately the model law on the other hand completely ignores the issue of natural markets. Vendors’ Willingness to relocate: Responses (%)

Percentage

Willing to locate 51.4

Unwilling to locate 47.5

No response 1.1

Total 100

Our study also supports the case for preservation of natural markets as our survey suggests that more than 50% of the vendors are against the idea of of relocation as they fear it would adversely affect their business

25

The national policy stresses that while issuing licences the existing street vendors should be registered first and new vendors should be accommodated depending on availability of space. The model bill overlooks this aspect. It does not mention the vending rights of those who are already selling on the streets. The results can easily be foreseen if such a law is enforced. The bureaucrats and elected politicians will decide on who will get the pitch licences and, given the record of municipalities in bribe taking, these will be decided on the basis of the vendor’s paying capacity. The elected members may also use this to provide favours. It is therefore absolutely necessary to protect the interests of the existing vendors. In the past too whenever street vending was regularised preference was given to existing ones. In some cases the receipts of fines or eviction notices were used as proof.

Methods for getting license

Methods Percentage

Political patronage 5.5

Bribe 17.35

Other methods 21.55

No response 55.6

Total 100

Time period for getting license

However, our survey findings clearly point out the fact that the above stated methods of attaining a license are not new, but have been rather significant in the past as well where getting a license is much dependent on the bribe paid and other sorts of political favours. Also approximately 90% of them reported that issue of a license took more than about 20 years and many have still not been given. Further , the average time taken to obtain a license was 3 years .

In the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi, the Tehbazari tax was taken as a basis for allowing street vending. The bill if made a law will be reversing this important precedent. [Bhowmik – 2010]19

19


Time period Percentage

Less than a year 3.5

1-2 years 2.3

2-3 years 1.1

More than 3 years 93.1

Total 100

26


The national policy has laid down that eviction is the last resort. Moreover, if vendors are evicted the concerned authorities should ensure that they are provided alternative sites and their earnings are not reduced. Many feel that this is the most important provision for protection of the vendors. The bill does not mention anything on eviction. If there is no regulation, the municipal authority can evict street vendors indiscriminately.

The fourth point of departure from the national policy is in the numerical aspect of street vending. It is agreed by all that around 2% of the urban population is engaged in street vending. The bill should specify the extent of space allotted for street vending. It is normally accepted that one-third of the pavement be reserved for vendors and two-thirds for pedestrians or the bill can specify that since 2% of the urban population is engaged in street vending, at least 2% of urban space be reserved for vending.

Implementation Status

As in other federal systems, policy implementation in India is often uneven across states and cities. In the case of the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, some states and cities have moved forward to implement the policy only to come across obstacles along the way, while others have yet to take any steps at all. Others have implemented parts of the policy, but not according to the standard process outlined above

The national policy has been adopted in seven of India’s 28 states since 2005[WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No.2]20. Elsewhere, some states have made progress toward implementation. In Bihar, though the policy has not been passed, a survey of vendors has been completed throughout the state. Local authorities in Delhi have prepared a regulatory scheme for urban street vendors in accordance with the policy. The state of Chattisgharh has adopted by-laws for the regulation of street vending, demarcated vending zones and begun to form TVCs.

There are many states and cities that have made little or no progress on policy implementation. In cities that practice exclusionary urban planning, violations of street vendors’ fundamental rights continue.

In response to growing violations of street vendors’ rights in these cities, NASVI launched nationwide protests in December 2010 calling on state and local governments to halt ongoing evictions and implement the National Policy in accordance with the 2010 Supreme Court verdict upholding vendors’ rights, and calling on the central government to enact a comprehensive central law.

One success story State of Orissa or the city of Bhubaneswar has officially passed the National Policy, but the city has used the National Policy guidelines for regulating street vending and designing vending zones in the city. The case is unique in that the city administration was able to create a partnership between public, private, and community organizations, including an important role for membership-based organizations of street vendors.

20


27


In the process of creating those zones, city officials harnessed stakeholders from the private sector and the community under the banner “city for all, and all for the city,” forging several public private partnerships to facilitate cost sharing among the stakeholders.

Policy Implementation

From the time the policy was adopted in 2004, NASVI and its affiliates sought to place pressure on state and local governments to implement it on the ground. As a standard process, the state and local governments would ratify the policy as a first step. Then, the local government would conduct a census or survey of vendors and set up the TVC (and, if necessary, ward-level vending committees) with representation from street vending organizations. The existing licensing system would be abolished, and registration of street vendors would start anew in accordance with terms established in the National Policy. Meanwhile, once local authorities provided for vending spaces in master plans, development plans, zonal plans and local area plans, they would work with TVCs to map the vending zones and move forward with identity cards, fees, and public service provision. The overall story of policy implementation is one of mixed results. As in other federal systems, policy implementation in India is often uneven across states and cities. In the case of the National

Policy on Urban Street Vendors, some states and cities have moved forward to implement the policy only to come across obstacles along the way, while others have yet to take any steps at all. Others have implemented parts of the policy, but not according to the standard process outlined above. The below table provides an overview of the policy implementation results to date.21

Table provides an overview of the policy implementation results to date.22

21

The information presented in Table 1 was provided by NASVI and verified by field visits in some locations 22

The information presented in Table 1 was provided by NASVI and verified by field visits in some locations

28

Policy Adopted at the State Level

State Level Vendors Survey

City Level Vending Zones Defined

Membership-based Organizations’ (MBOs) Activities

State Level Vendor Federation/ Alliances

Madhya Pradesh

2005

Complete in almost all cities

1400 vending zones defined in major cities; 90,000 street vendors with identity cards

Strong but confined to a few cities

Strong vendors’ organizations in some cities; a strong NASVI presence at the state level

Andhra Pradesh

2007

Complete in some cities, but policy excludes stationary vendors

Defined in very few cities

Several activities since 2005: post-card campaigns, city-wise mobilization, petitions

Strong but fragmented organizing by vendors

Uttar Pradesh

2007

Complete in some cities

Registration and identity cards issued in several cities; vending zones defined

Very active: yearly state-level meetings; letters and petitions to government; litigation

Not a registered federation but a strong state network, under the umbrella of NASVI

Rajasthan

2008

Very weak implementation, complete in a few cities

Pending

State level meetings since 2007; protest marches and campaigns, but less active now

No alliance at the state level, but strong NASVI presence

Status of Policy Implementation at the State Level

29

Municipal and Police Laws – Required Interventions

There are certain sections of the Police Act and Indian Penal Code, which are the main deterrents to the profession of vending. They are as follows:

· Section 283 of the IPC (Danger or obstruction in public way or the line of navigation) Whoever, by doing any act or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causes danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. The offence punishable under this section is the nuisance of causing obstruction.

· Section 34 of the Police Act: No person shall cause obstruction in any street or public place by –

Allowing animals or vehicle

Leaving any vehicle standing or fastening any cattle in the street or in the public place

Using any part of a street or public place as a halting place for vehicles or cattle

Leaving any box, bale package or other things whatsoever or upon a street for an unreasonable length of time or contrary to any regulation

By exposing anything for sale or setting out anything for sale in or upon any stall, booth, board, cask, and basket or in any other way whatsoever.

Maharashtra

2009

Complete in some cities

Defined in very few cities

Very active: multiple demonstrations and petitioning at highest level; judicial action

Strong vendors’ federation advocating for policy

West Bengal

2010

Survey started

Pending

Active at the city (Calcutta) level: protest marches, drawing media attention to the plight of vendors

Strong organizing at the city level

Kerala

2011

Pending

Pending

Strong, but confined to a few cities

Strong NASVI linkages with the trade union wings of the left political parties

30

These two provisions create the contradiction between a legal ‘licensed’ vendor and ‘illegal’ obstruction or causing nuisance resulting in physical eviction of even licensed vendors.

What’s needed - A Central law

Once enacted, the central law would prevail over all state municipal laws as well as police acts to the extent that they are inconsistent with the law for street vendors. It also would do away with the existing license system that has become a tool to victimize and harass the street vendors in almost all municipal areas in the country.

As per the Bill anyone over 18 years can apply and register as street vendor with respective Town Vending Committee (TVC) on payment of one-time fee. Once registered, they will be given identity cards entitling them to sell their wares in specified vending zones.

The decision of making vending zones would be taken up by the respective TVC. Every TVC would have at least 40 per cent members from the street vendors (one-third of which shall be women vendors). Besides, the Bill contains provisions to protect and promote natural markets, weekly markets and night bazaars where vendors and hawkers can sell their wares.

The proposed legislation also has clear provisions for grievance redressal and transparency. The laid out provisions and mechanisms protect vendors from confiscation of their goods and forced eviction by authorities.

Regularization of Street Vending in Bhubaneshwar: A Policy

Model

[Randhir Kumar]23

Before 2007, street vending in Bhubaneshwar, exemplified an over-regulated informal economy. Police and municipal inspectors would persistently harass the vendors by threatening them and confiscating their merchandise. The authorities treated street vendors as illegal entities, encroachers on public space, and a source of unsightly nuisance. This negative approach towards the vendors generated a classic conflict , characterized by distrust and an ongoing tug-of-war between the town authorities and the street vendors. On one side, the town authorities would resort to anti-encroachment drives attempting to contain or eliminate the street vendors. On the other side, the vendors, struggling to safeguard their livelihood, would demonstrate their anger and resentment through massive protests. At times these protests would temporarily allow vendors to continue with their business; however, these

23 WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) no.

7

31

strategies were more like fire-fighting or stop-gap arrangements that did not offer a permanent solution (Bhowmik 2001).

In Bhubaneshwar, the basic issue of devising a policy framework for regularizing street vending remained unaddressed for a long time. However, the need for an amicable policy was felt by both the town authorities and vendors alike. After multiple rounds of brainstorming, a conceptual model involving dedicated vending zones was collectively agreed to in December 2006. Under this model, legally sanctioned, aesthetically pleasing fixed kiosks were to be constructed in the vending zones and handed over to the vendors working in the area. Between 2007 and 2009, 52 vending zones were created; as of December 2011, there were 54 vending zones with approximately 2,600 kiosks (Mohapatra 2011).

The above figure displays the action plan that was devised was to be implemented in roughly

three phases. The first phase required town authorities and vendors’ associations to map the

vendors’ spatial distribution throughout the city and propose the potential sites for creating the

vending zones. It also involved a photo survey of the beneficiaries who would occupy the kiosks

in the zones. Once this exercise of identification of land plots and vendors was complete, the

second phase involved putting the site in consideration under a probation period of six months.

During this probation period, only temporary bamboo structures were allowed to be erected.

These were observed for six months. Once the probation period was over, and both the

authorities and vendors’ organizations were convinced of its smooth functioning, the third and

final phase required issuing vending licences. The construction of iron structures having an

aesthetic appearance was permitted. In this third phase, private partners were brought in

primarily to finance the construction of the vending zones.

32

Critical Success Factors for the Model

There were several factors beyond the narrow consideration of urban space behind the

successful creation of vending zones. From the policy design through the policy

implementation, the four key factors contributing to the success are depicted in the below

Figure.

Sustainability, Challenges and Possibilities for Replication

The innovative vending zone model provides vendors with an opportunity for a sustainable source of livelihood. When Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation Deputy Secretary and Licensing Officer Mr. Ashok Kumar Mohanty was queried about the long term sustainability of the vending zones, he assured of its future, saying “...Unless there is an extreme necessity of the vending zone land, we do not disturb them and even if the vending zone land is taken we make sure that the vendors are rehabilitated in a proper way in new place not very far from the previous one.” In recent events, some of the vending zones have been demolished to widen the roads and

unclog traffic congestion only after provision of an alternative place to rehabilitate the affected

vendors (The Telegraph 2010).

Taking cues from the success of BMC, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra (Mohapatra 2011) and West Bengal have tried incorporating this model within their cities. The municipal corporations of Guwahati and Patna have already started to follow in the foot steps of BMC, initiating the early process of identification of vending zones through a partnership model (The Telegraph 2008). In the capital city Delhi, too, the ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation urged the Delhi Municipal Commissioner to learn from the Bhubaneshwar model and work towards regularizing the street vendors in Delhi.

To achieve a positive outcome equivalent to that in Bhubaneshwar requires strong vendor

leadership and a will among town authorities to address the issues pertaining to street vending.

This can lead to interventions that have the potential to partly address urban poverty by

creating a more conducive environment in which street vendors can trade.

33

5 THE INDISPENSABLE

DEPENDENCE :A

CONSUMER SURVEY

ANALYSIS

The city of Delhi, with its myriad colors, is home to people from all walks of life. Located on the

banks of river Yamuna, Delhi is the second most populous city in India. The population of Delhi

is estimated to be twenty-two million and it is the fourth most populous metropolis in the

world. Currently there are about three hundred and fifty thousand to five hundred thousand (figure

includes both permanent vendors and mobile hawkers) street vendors in Delhi, serving a

consumer pool of over a few million consumers (Naik 1).

When one hears the people stuck in traffic and passers-by complaining about the innumerable

problems arising because of street vendors, they are compelled to pronounce them as the root

cause of the problem. They are blamed for littering and public space encroachment. They are

treated as “illegal entities” and “sources of unsightly nuisance” (Kumar 1). Yet, the fact remains

that we are all dependent on these vendors for varying needs like vegetables and clothing

among many other products. Due to this somewhat hypocritical nature of consumers, it

becomes imperative to carry out some kind of analysis to study their behavior vis-à-vis vendor

operations.

About a hundred and thirty consumers were interviewed in various places in Delhi. Most

responses were standard with some variability.

34

Given the nature of street vending and the standard it maintains in India, one would expect to

observe maximum purchases being made by people from lower income age group and people

with little educational qualification. However, a whopping 61% of the people surveyed, were

graduates. While people with no education accounted for 15% of the consumers.

Certain markets in Delhi are obviously more attractive than others. In most cases the supply

and demand side factors balance out and markets that are attractive to consumers (good

bargains) are also areas where the vendors are leading a better standard of living. Lajpat Nagar

in South Delhi and Karol Bagh in West Delhi are classic examples. While in Lajpat Nagar, vendors

continue to operate at the mercy of the police and MCD, majority of those at Karol Bagh

possess a teh-bazari license.

Most consumers were in the age group of 26-40 years, which includes regular shoppers, people

in their youth, young working class and housewives who try to economize their budgets. This is

followed by the 19-25 age group bracket that includes bulk of college going and school students

who are looking for cheap bargains and ample variety. Markets like Sarojini Nagar and Janpath

being absolute steals that offer low priced products at extremely competitive prices.

Educational Qualifications

Graduates andabove

No Education

Primary Education

SecondaryEducation

Category (Rs.) Percentage

0-1000 2

1001-2000 3

2001-3000 15

3001-4000 13

4001-5000 65

5001 and above 2

Total 100

35

A large proportion of the consumer pool were salaried individuals, followed by a much smaller

segment of self employed people.

Given the variety of products that street vendors offer, and the number of street vendors that

exist on every nook and corner of the city, it would be safe to say that the prices are reasonable

and while the quality of products may not match standards of those sold at formal shops, but

for the low prices they are quite a steal. That said, the question of subjectivity cannot be

generalized. The bulk of street vending products are vegetables & fruit, bread & eggs and other

miscellaneous items, in that order. The least bought are non-vegetarian items like meat,

chicken, pork etc. Vegetables and fruits are the most bought because of their easy accessibility

and mobility of the carts that the vendors possess. In Delhi, a village called Razapur has a daily

vegetable market in the morning. The consumers are loyal to the vendors, and the vendors

respond in kind by delivering orders home!

Street vendors have several constraints, from obtaining fresh stock, to maintaining a

competitive price and attract consumers since the means to advertizing are none. But as

consumers, and rational ones at that, it’s our right to judge and weigh the products and their

utility. There are broadly 3 sections of the society when we are talking of consuming products

sold by street vendors- people who don’t have a choice and must only buy from them, people

who have a choice and may turn to a more preferred source and people at the margin, who are

indifferent. The quality of the product has the ability to deter two of these three categories

namely the second and the third. As mentioned before, the major proportion of consumers lie

in the age group of 19-25 and 26-40 years, these are most likely people who lie in the first and

third categories of the aforementioned sections of the society, and hence purchase goods from

the vendors because their services are satisfactory. The statistics also reveal that over 40%of

the consumers are happy with the products and rate them as being very good, 30% rate them

as being good and 22.5% of the people were dissatisfied and said that the quality was bad.

Age group of Consumers

0-18 years

19-25 years

26-40 years

41-55 years

36

Due to varying reasons like easy accessibility due to closeness of vending zone, reasonable

prices and fresh stock among other variables may contribute to the “loyalty” of consumers

towards certain vendors. Certain products especially fruits and vegetables are very readily

available through street vendors, and consumers in India still haven’t been inducted to the

concept of purchasing their daily bag of greens from supermarkets. Stats also show that 78% of

consumers purchase from vendors on a regular basis, out of which 75% buy from the same

vendor market.

Every single day, many of us pass across hundreds of streets, scores of markets and dozens of

crossings. They are perpetually teeming with the sights, the sounds and the smells of thousands

of street vendors-some selling those tangy churans some your favorite magazines or some the

car accessory you have been meaning to replace since ages.

They are the persistent, perseverant backdrops of the Great Indian Bazaar-they provide

the inspiration to thousands of directors, authors, they are used to market the ‘Incredible India’

image-give mysticism, romanticism to it in order to draw throngs of tourists and consequently,

big bucks to the country.

Yet they are living in an abysmal state. We constantly crib about the neighborhood being

messed up by the unsightly shanty towns-home of the migrants who clean their houses and

sell them a myriad of services. Despite the fact that most people agree that they are customers

to the products sold by street vendors, majority of the people also have an issue with them. The

major cause here being the traffic hazard that this unorganized sector end up becoming. An

expected 81% feel that street vendors cause traffic congestion. Despite this inconsistent

behavior, we can’t really blame the consumers, everyone is running around to make a living,

and street vendors in a mangal bazaar is the last thing one wants to put up with.

Quality of Products

Very Good

Good

Bad

No Response

37

http://theviewspaper.net/a-case-for-the-democracy-in-india/

And despite cursing vendors and their ways of operation, it comes as a surprise that 82% of the

consumers do not want vendors to be relocated. This may be due to the convenience and ease

of access that the services provide, while 12.6% would want the vendors to be moved and feel

that it may in some way help ease traffic congestion.

Reduction of traffic congestion: Relocation of Vendors

Percentage

of

consumer

responses

Reduction of traffic congestion- Do

not want relocation of vendors

82

Reduction of traffic congestion-

Demand relocation of vendors

12.6

No response 5.4

Total 100

Clearly, given the nature of scale and operation of street vending in India, vendors tend

to be cheaper than most other sources of goods available in the market, but that

obviously comes at a price which maybe a compromise in the quality or variety or even

appeal. Yet, some people say street vendors are more expensive than other shops. That

may be the case because street vendors are fighting it out every day to raise their

Opinion regarding the congestion caused

Vendors- as Major Cause oftraffic congestion

Vendors - Minor impact ontraffic congestion

Vendors – No impact on traffic congestion

Cant say

38

standard of living and to make ends meet. With proposal of the FDI coming it’s

infiltration into the retail sector is likely to adversely impact the livelihood of vendors

and small retailers bringing down their contribution to city, state and national

economies.

Price variations - Vendors Vs. Regular shops

Vendor-More Expensive

Vendor-Same price of regularshops

Vendor-Less Expensive

39

Heat of Mumbai hawkers protest reaches national capital with street vendors forming human

chain in Delhi demanding institution of murder charge against Mumbai ACP whose terror led to

death of a hawker in Mumbai.

Agitators demand compensation of Rs. 25 lakh from Maharashtra government to the family of

dead street vendor.

-Press Statement

As National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) report, the heat of Mumbai hawkers’

protests reached national capital on 20th January, 2013 with street vendors forming human

chain at Parliament Street in Delhi demanding institution of murder charge against the

infamous Mumbai Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vasant Dhoble whose action led to

the death of a 45 years old hawker Madan Jaiswal in Mumbai on 11 January.

Joining the human chain organized by the NASVI which launched a nationwide anti-police terror

campaign on Sunday, the street vendors of Delhi made a shrill cry to make police accountable

to the public and said that the vendors and hawkers make city streets safer as they keep vigil on

the streets.

40

WORKING CONDITIONS: HARRASMENTS AND HAZARDS

THE STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD

AND REGULATION OF STREET VENDING) BILL, 2012

A BILL to protect the rights of urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities and

for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

According to Sharit Bhowmik, professor and chairperson of the Centre for Labor Studies at Tata

Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, the bill leaves the onus of creating the schemes to the

local municipalities of the states, "which defeats the purpose of a Central legislation.”

According to NASVI, this bill differs from the draft of the bill in a number of ways, working

against the benefit of the vendors. Whereas the draft ensured a ‘Town Vending Committee’

which would have at least 40 percent representation of street vendors, the bill gives the final

authority to the civic body with no representation of vendors which would have the power to

decide the vendors’ fate, including the plans regarding resettlements and rehabilitation.

Alongside, NASVI complains about legal ambiguities like “public purpose land”, making the

interpretation of such terms liable to misuse of law due to lack of precise definitions.

Street vendors have poor social protection and their working conditions on the streets expose

them to a variety of safety and health issues.

-Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)

Vendors are more often than not, regarded as a public nuisance by all stake holders alike, be it

the municipal officials, Resident Welfare Association, police authority or even customers. They

are regarded as the primary culprits for congestions and traffic jams on the streets, depriving

the city of aesthetic beauty. As WIEGO puts it, “The lack of recognition of the role of the street

vendors culminates in a multitude of problems faced by them: obtaining license, insecurity of

earnings, insecurity of place of hawking, gratifying officers and musclemen, constant eviction

threat, fines and harassment by traffic policemen.”

Most street vendors live under constant risks because of the legal, physical and socio-cultural

environment in which they work. In most parts of the world, the most frequent risks include the

harassment they face when raided by the government institutions, mainly municipality and the

police, on the pretext of upcoming elections, mega events or for the beautification of some

historic or heritage area/property. The harassment of hawkers is however a perfunctory activity

in the streets of Delhi, and can take multiple forms, including verbal, monetary or even physical

assault in some cases. Vendors are harassed, not only by the Delhi Police and the MCD officials,

but also by Office Bearers of Resident Welfare Associations, shopkeepers in and around the

place where they are vending, market pradhans, customers and co-workers.

Frequency of harassment (%)

41


Occasionally 35

Frequently 37

Very rare 15

No response 13

Total 100

The above table tells us that out of the total number of respondents, 37% complained of being

harassed by either the police, officials or both frequently. This was starkly visible in the field

surveys when the vendors would abruptly stop responding if a policeman walked by. 35% of the

vendors complained of harassment on an occasional basis. Only 15% of the respondents said

the harassment occurs rarely. These respondents mainly belong to markets that have been

organized and have license or where the vendors have a stay order from the court (like in

Connaught Place). A conspicuous size of 13% of the vendors refused to respond possibly

because of the fear of further harassment upon answering.

Vendors facing harassment (%)

Percentage

Harassment- Police 77.7

Harassment - officials 12

No response 10.3

Total 100

Conforming to the evidence that one often reads in newspapers, around 77% of the vendors

admitted to having faced some form of harassment by the policemen. About 12% of the

vendors faced harassment from the MCD/NDMC officials. The fact that these vendors are in a

vulnerable position ensures that this harassment comes as no surprise. The figure of 10% of the

vendors being unresponsive may, prima facie, point towards the existence of fear which does

not allow them to talk openly about their problems.

According to a report by V.V. Giri National Labor Institute, NOIDA, one-third of the vendors face

harassment by the police, wherein the police asks for money every tenth or twelfth day, failing

42

which the vendors are verbally and physically abused. The police also often consume juice; take

pan, gutka, fruits and vegetables, without paying any cost for them.

The market pradhans also often become a source of harassment for the vendors. The Pradhan

leads the vendors of a market and promises to provide basic security, amenities and facilities to

the vendors. As a ‘fee’ for his service, Pradhan often collects fee from the fellow vendors,

ranging from Rs.15 to Rs.50 everyday, depending on how integral the vendor is to the market.

The Resident Welfare Association also charges high fees from the vendors for entry into the

residential areas. In case the vendors do not adhere to the entry fee, the vendors are charged

hefty fines, without a receipt. Many a times their carts and goods are also confiscated, and it is

very difficult for the vendors to get them back. In some cases, vendors are even beaten up by

the guards.

Thus we see, often the raids by police or municipal officials lead to confiscation of carts and

goods accompanied with hefty fines. To add on, vendors are often displaced with no provision

of alternate place for business; instead their shades and shelters for the merchandise are

further destroyed. The displacement of vendors by the police is currently legal under the Police

Act. Often, the vendors who possess license to vend are forced by the police and municipality

officials to pay a fee for the license; however, the venders do not receive any receipt for such

payment in return. In addition to the license fee, vendors also pay fee to the RWAs for

allowance to vend in their respective colonies. Despite the fee, RWA does not come to vendors’

rescue in times of crisis.

Nature of harassment (%)

Nature Percentage

Physical abuse 12

Monetary 35.5

Confiscation of property 37.5

Verbal abuse 11

Sexual harassment 2

Any other 2

Total 100

When asked about the nature of harassment, 37.5% claim that their property is confiscated.

The confiscation of property takes place both because of the whims of the people in authority

43

as well as encroachment. Around 35.5% admit that they pay police and MCD officials in

monetary terms. In fact, the survey indicates that a fixed sum of money is deposited to the

officials where the amount paid is determined by the ability of the vendor to pay. 12% and 11%

face physical and verbal abuse respectively. This is common in larger and more popular markets

like India Gate and low to the point of being non-existent in markets like Janpath and

Connaught Place. 2% of the vendors face sexual abuse. The low percentage of vendors that face

sexual abuse is a positive indication amidst otherwise dismal figures.

According to THE STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF LIVELIHOOD) BILL,

2011, procedure for Eviction and Confiscation are laid down as follows:

a) In the rarest case if any street vendor needs to be temporarily evicted i.e. for festival or

national celebrations, then prior notice of two days shall be given to the vendors of that

natural market and their union or Zonal vending Regulation Committee before evicting

the vendors

b) The Municipal authorities shall not confiscate perishable items like fruits and

vegetables. Even if they confiscate the goods they shall release them immediately within

an hour.

However, the study revealed that the MCD officials as well as the police, in their regular raids,

force the vendors to frequently evict their places of vending, on the spot, without any prior

legal or official notice. To add on to their miseries, their goods and carts are also often taken

away without issuance of any receipt. Further, the goods are confiscated much more than just

an hour, duration sometime extending in days. The goods in most cases are released only after

the vendors pay the officers hefty ‘fines’.

It was 11:30 in the morning. I was in the Razapur area. I saw vendors standing with their goods

packed. I inquired why their goods were still packed and not put on display for sale. One of the

vendors responded, “aaj police waale subah se hi shuro ho gaye. Hamara poora din aise hi

bitata hai, saaman utha kar bhaagne main aur phir sajaane main. Hum kya khak kama paatain

hain.” [The police are on the job since morning today. We spend our whole day like this –

packing and unpacking our goods. How much can we earn in this situation.]

In order to keep themselves in tune with disfavoring policies, vendors pay regular bribes to

troubling authorities and other associations. Apart from this, they try to keep their carts mobile

so that it becomes easier for them to run away in times of checks. Others who cannot afford

carts use the floor to lay their merchandise. Such vendors prefer to limit their stalls till their

hands’ reach so that they can easily pick up their goods and run away. The disinclined policies

of street vending discourage vendors from increasing the scale of their business and form a

major reason of the persistence of low-income among the vendors.

Payment of Bribe (%)

44

Response Percentage

Bribe paid 68

Not paid 20

No response 12

Total 100

From the above table we conclude that, of the total number of respondents, 68% pay bribes,

while only 20% do not. A majority of those who pay do not have a Teh-bazari nor are stationary

vendors indicating that “enabling” the vendors and empowering them through licenses and

legal recognition ensures lowering of bribes and undue advantages taken by officials. A majority

of the vendors who have to pay bribes are a part of unorganized, unrecognized markets where

police presence invokes fear. 12% of the vendors who were asked this question did not respond

or chose to give ambiguous answers.

According to a study by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Indian street vendors

pay fifteen to twenty percent of their total income as bribes to local police. It also adds that the

vendors face constant harassment from local police and MCD.

Recipient of bribe (%)

Recipient Percentage

MCD official 30.7

Police 25.5

NDMC 16.8

No response 27

Total 100

When asked who the brides were paid to, 30.7% of the respondents said MCD officials, 25.5%

named the police and 16.8% said the NDMC. 27% of the vendors refused to answer this

question. The considerable proportion of vendors paying to the Police and MCD officials

indicates the control over such markets that these official agencies have. The sizeable

proportion of 27% of the vendors not responding to the question points towards fear of

45

repercussions which was visible even during the interviews when the researchers were

constantly questioned about their identity.

Amount paid to recipient by the vendors (%)

Amount Percentage

100-500 40.8

501-1000 20.2

1001-1500 4

1501 and above 2

No response 33

Total 100

From the above table it is clear that while 20.2% of them pay between 501-1000, a majority of

the respondents (40.8%) pay between 100&500 as bribe. Respondents paying between

1001&1500 were 4% while only 2% paid 1501 and above. 27% of the vendors chose not to

answer this question. The bribe given by the vendor depends on the market in terms of size and

popularity and may sometimes depend on the size of their carts or stands. These bribes are

known as ‘Hafta’ which is usually collected by the leader of the market union and given to the

police or other government officials. Usually a large proportion of vendors pay these bribes in

order to avoid discontinuation of their work, though these bribes marginalize their income to a

minimum. These bribes maybe paid on a weekly or monthly basis. Many researchers also felt

during the survey that the figures revealed by the vendors were not the true approximation of

the actual value. Many even avoided this question due to the fear of civic bodies in authority.

“I Pay Rs. 20 everyday”

Mine is a family of 15. We live in a temporary shelter on rent. It has only one

room, but we just manage to live somehow! What option do we have? The

male members leave home in the morning and come back late at night. They

sleep outside the house. Only women and children are indoors. Where is the

space to keep unsold items inside the room? So I keep them in a godown and

pay Rs. 20/- everyday. Only if I had a proper house I would have saved this

money (rent).

-– A vendor

46

Street vendors have very poor safety conditions and hazardous working environment.

Consequently vendors are prone to health and safety issues. The SNDT – ILO study on Mumbai

found that around 85 per cent of the street vendors complained of stress related diseases –

migraine, hyper acidity, hyper tension and high blood pressure. As NASVI finds out, women

specifically face much more disastrous situations. As they are the home makers and have the

customary duty to feed their family, their day starts early in the morning with household work

and then their struggle for earning the livelihood begins. In this storming life they have to face

specific challenges such as difficulty related to deal with male dominated word at workplace

owing to the fact that they are a socially subjugated category. The lack of toilets has an adverse

effect on women’s health and many suffer from urinary tract infections and kidney ailments.

THE STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF

LIVELIHOOD) BILL, 2011

lays down the responsibility of Municipal Authority as follows:

Markets in consultation with the vending committees, including:

I. solid waste disposal

II. Public toilets to maintain cleanliness,

III. Electricity,

IV. Drinking water,

V. shelter to protect street vendors and their wares,

VI. Storage facilities, beautification, placement of signage,

And

VII. Other facilities as needed by street vendors.

However, according to a report by NASVI, vendors have to face atrocities on the daily basis

from the government officials (Municipal and police officials). Many suffer from lack of capital

in order to buy the products they sell, and many among who are mobile vendors, can often be

seen carrying the heavy load on their heads and walking kilometres in search of customers.

They can never have a day off from their work as they have very little or sometimes, no earning

(resulting in no or less savings) even after working for long hours every day, which leaves them

tired and almost dead at the end of the day. Their goods are time and again confiscated by the

police or MCD officials incurring them huge losses and leaving them all the more vulnerable to

the adverse conditions. They have to vend on open streets and roads under hostile weather

conditions. The work conditions are often made more miserable as government frequently

47

pressurize them to change their already set up vending space without providing them any

alternative. They have to go far away located whole sale markets usually on daily basis in order

to buy the goods they sell, which consumes much of their time, energy and money. Moreover,

continued threat of evictions and/or loss of income make it harder for them to survive.

Thus, street vendors routinely face hazards in their daily working conditions. First and foremost,

they haul heavy loads and cart to and from their working point every single day. Secondly, their

working places lack the minimal hygienic and healthy conditions. To name a few are improper

sanitary conditions, lack of drinking water, poor sewage lines, no access to hygienic food,

electricity et cetera. To add on, street vendors are exposed to physical hazards as they are

provided neither with traffic safety nor with fire safety. Street vendors are highly prone to

water and air borne diseases because of exorbitant exposure to pollution.

Complaints against harassment registered by the vendors (%)

Percentage

Registered 13

Not registered 70

No response 17

Total 100

Not surprisingly only 13 % of the respondents registered complaints against harassment while

70% did not. This is due to the fact that most of the vendors do not know who to complain to

and many who possess this information are too scared to file a complaint. 17% of the vendors

did not respond to this question. We see here the ‘Not Registered ‘ complaint occupy a sizeable

proportion as most acts of harassment inflicted upon the vendors are by the police or other

authorized authorities themselves, who register these complaints. While some do not have the

knowledge on whom to approach, though these occupy a very small percentage, as reported in

the survey, some also fear the police as they might face eviction as a repercussion.

Complaint registering agency (%)

Agency Percentage

Police 12

48

Officials 15

Elected representative 17

No response 56

Total 100

Vendors in any area face certain problems, be it bribing, violence, forceful removal etc. In this

respect they contact various position holders to listen to their grievances. The data shows that

majority of the vendors ignored this question and did not try to complain about their problems.

This includes 56% of the vendor force. Since in the above table we saw that 70% of the vendor

did not register their complaints, so in this question many not the answer this question.

Out of the remaining, 17% opt to complain to the counsellor or other elected representative of

the area, as the illiterate vendors are often fooled by the misleading promises that they make

during election. 15% relied on the market official or municipalities and the remaining mere

12% chose the police. Few also said that they chose to fight their own battle by the means of

protests and strikes without depending on any authority.

49

7 A SPRINKLE OF OUR

INGENUITY: INNOVATIONS India is the second fastest growing economy in the world. Touted to be an economic

superpower by 2050, India is on a path of development that has only one direction and it seems

that in an effort to move towards the “greater good”, the needs of some vulnerable sections of

the society are being ignored. The term “diverse economies” was a vision of J. K. Gibson-

Graham who talked about the existence of people making a living outside of the capitalist

framework. Street vendors are elements of such diverse economies.

What Gibson-Graham means can be summarized in the following statement:

“Every development effort will face different problems and possibilities” (SEEDS)

The development of the economy and traversing the path of economic growth need not mean

elimination of certain historically eminent sections of the population. While it is true that street

vending is likely to become outworn in the coming decades, incorporating the street vendors

into the urban life in order to ensure a holistic development that penetrates into the lives of all

sections of the society.

Currently, the Indian scenario is best put in the following manner:

India is a capitalist country for the poor and a socialist country for the rich

(M. S Ahluwalia- 2012, IIT-D)

The integral role that street vendors play in the daily lives of much of the world’s population

stands in sharp contrast to the precariousness of their own lives. The importance of street

vendors- in subsidizing the urban cost of living, in providing locational convenience in terms of

availability of goods and services and the diversity in the availability of these is seldom

recognized.

50

It is only when they are not where we expect to find them, when we expect to find them, plying

a particular path, occupying a particular spot that we even become aware of the role street

vendors play in our everyday lives.

(SEEDS)

Keeping in mind the issues concerning street vendors, we have come up with four innovations

that we believe will set the stage for the advancement of this segment of the population.

Problem: Quality Consideration An important consideration where street vendors are concerned is the quality consideration. A

part of the informal sector, street vendors are seldom liable for the quality considerations of

their products. Return, exchange or complaints are not a part of the system where street

vendors belong. Often the case is such that you purchase a good after considerable bargaining

and once the money changes hands, the liability of the street vendor ceases to exist.

A number of studies have proposed the setting up of agencies to keep a check on the quality of

the products sold. We, as students of Economics, go right back to the basics propagated by

Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and David Ricardo. The classical economics states that free of any

intervention, the “invisible hand” guides the markets towards equilibrium. Combining this

wisdom with the insight of Amartya Sen (who emphasized on the need for market

complementing intervention in the form of supporting institutions that enhance the efficiency

of free markets), we have below a solution for quality compromises often observed in

unregulated inform street vending.

We have developed a website (www.thesarojiniguide.cu.cc). The website has the following

features:

a. Introduction: For an outsider, the concerns about a market may range from the

geographical location of the market, the ease of access in terms of commutation, quality

of goods and services sold to the safety (especially for Delhi), price range of

commodities and the do’s and don’ts while shopping. These concerns are addressed in

the home page that starts with a brief history of Sarojini Nagar (our sample market) and

goes on to discuss other aspects mentioned above including the market timing, the

market associated in power and the map of the market.

b. Picture gallery: “A picture says a thousand words” is an adage that could not have been

truer. Words can only say so much and to fill in the void created by text alone, this

website has a picture gallery that shows the glimpses of the market.

c. Vendor rating: In a perfectly competitive market, homogeneity of products is axiomatic.

While the market of street vendors, in many ways, complies with the assumptions of

perfectly competitive markets that form the fundamentals of economic theory, they

compromise on the homogeneity of products. While at face value, the street vendors

51

http://www.thesarojiniguide.cu.cc/

seem to be selling the same products, there is often much variability in the quality. This

website has a “Vendor information” section that has information regarding the name,

age, type of goods sold, price range, consumer feedback and the picture of the vendor.

Non compliance with certain minimum quality considerations vis-à-vis the price, the

vendors would face a diversion of demand away from their products. This website

counters the problems created by information asymmetry with eventually leads to

moral hazard and adverse selection. The sheer volumes of people that are the consumer

base of street vendors reduce the incentive to maintain quality. When empowered with

information regarding the quality of products sold and alternatives available, consumers

have a greater bargaining power and this comes forth as the ability to demand higher

quality from the vendors who would otherwise face reduced and eventually absent

demand.

The consumer comments section adds versatility to the feedback that a potential

consumer can refer to. This shall eventually lead to better customer service and

emphasis on product quality.

Lastly, Delhi being a hub for foreign tourists (who are often misled and hence avoid such

markets altogether), this website shall be instrumental in promotion of tourism by

imparting information and hence helping tourists feel safer and more comfortable about

local markets of Delhi.

Problem: Information Asymmetry Informational asymmetry in case of street vendors is, unfortunately, not unidirectional. Often,

the street vendors are completely unaware of the rules and regulations governing them. While

field survey, our team found that while there are some markets like Janpath where organization

has brought with itself increased information to street vendors not only about their rights and

responsibilities but also about the duties and regulations that they are bound to abide by, there

were other markets like Mandawali where vendors were absolutely uninformed. This violates

another basic assumption of classical economic theory. Perfect information is a fundamental

supposition of the classical economists.

In order to surrogate for this lack of information, we have developed a “Vendor Guide”. This

vendor guide is inspired from the Vendor Guide developed for the street vendors of New York-

only, in India, due to lack of proper segregation of street vendors and haziness with regards to

the rules governing them, this guide is merely the beginning. Notwithstanding the considerable

scope for improvement, this guide contains the rules and regulations governing street vendors

with special emphasis on the protocol that is to be followed in case of displacement and

rehabilitation of the vendors.

52

With knowledge comes power and it is this power that shall deal with the social aspect of

exploitation of street vendors.

In order to ensure greater inclusion in this drive towards dissemination of information, the

guide was made in both Hindi and English and was disbursed vendors with a digital copy mailed

to organizations working towards the betterment of vendors- NASVI (National Association of

Street Vendors of India), SEVA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and Manushi.

Problem: Lack of adequate transportation The street vendor survey brought with itself the concerns about lack of adequate mobile

infrastructure in the form of carts for street vendors. One of the stark observations during our

survey of street vendors was the infrastructure from which this most of the class

operated. Most street vendors own a cart (on wheels) or a platform, which essentially consists

of a flat board, on which their wares are displayed. Due to lack of efficient space utilization,

their wares spill over onto the footpath, effectively consuming the space meant for consumers.

Moreover, given the scarce resource of space in the capital and the current inflow of migrants

joining the trade, it is essential that their infrastructure utilizes space efficiently. This holds

great importance for urban architecture and organized city planning.

In an effort to provide for the same, we have built a cart model. The cart has attempted to

capture the following features:

1. Use of vertical space instead of area wise space: Shelves have been added vertically so that

vendors can display their wares on it. The number of shelves is modifiable according to the

need of the vendor. The shelves are also detachable. This feature attempts to overcome the

problem of space encroachment.

2. Adequate area space and internal storage: The cart has dimension of 5*3 feet. This space can

be modified according to the wares that a vendor sells. For instance, if a vendor is

selling jewellery, he will use basket sizes according to size of the jewellery and accordingly use

the area. The cart also has internal storage for the purpose of storing the extra supply of goods

that he may carry during a particular working day.

3. Cart to box/ box to cart feature: the cart can be dismantled part by part. The implication is

that the shelves can be removed; the stands supporting the roof can be removed so that the

roof comes down to act as a cover for the cart.

4. The cart has the provision of a locking system that covers the security aspect of the trade of

vending.

5. Long shelf life: The cart has a metal frame and is made up of bamboo mats which are

resilient and can withstand any season.

53

http://act.as/

6. Ease of mobility: The cart is lightweight and is easily mobile.

7. The cart is cost effective.

Problem: A highly bureaucratic and complex mechanism for

vendor organization Abstract:

The regulations governing the street vendors are characterized by excessive bureaucracy, red-

tapism and delays in functionings. Our model, in consonance with our thrust of going back to

the basics, focuses on decentralization, self-sufficiency and human resource creation as

instruments of poverty alleviation and social amelioration of the street vendors. The reason for

government apathy has been attributed to the “structural violence by Akhil Gupta” (Red Tape:

Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in India, 2012).

Gupta points to political, administrative and judicial inaction that prevents poor Indians from

accessing basic necessities such as food and shelter. Structural violence in the form of poverty

persists despite the fact that the Indian poor are not excluded by the state—exclusion being a

basis for violence according to Giorgio Agamben’s use of the homo sacer concept. Paradoxically,

the poor are included in the democratic process and are, in fact, a central part of the system.

The implementation of development programmes is characterized by contingency, fortuitous

accidents and the perverse effects of strict rule-following. Bureaucratic processes themselves

contribute to the state’s structural violence against the poor. (LSE, June 13, 2012)

Briefly, let us refer to our model as the “revenue generating cooperative model (RGCM)”.

Taking a look at recent developments in the literature of cooperatives and their

implementation into policies, we find several examples that buttress the case for cooperatives.

When Mohd Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning economist, implemented the Grameen Banks

based on the concept of micro-finance, the wheels were set for a revolution. Development

theory has long since focused on poverty traps (Debraj Ray) which cause generation after

generation of people to live through expecting nothing but utter bleakness from future.

With Grameen banks came a breath of fresh air. Finally, economists and policy makers came

across a mechanism whereby financial penetration could be deepened and credit could be

extended to the poor who had historically turned to borrowing from money lenders at more

than market equilibrium rates of interest owing to lack of collateral. In fact, the Mysore

government has recently sanctioned Rs 2 crore (INR) to a policy scheme aiming at extending

micro credit to street vendors under the Mysore City Street Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative

Society. The society aims at expanding its functions over time to advance health insurance to

the street vendors based on the same principle. (The Times of India, 15 March, 2013)

54

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sacer

Thus, our model thrusts on the following desirable characteristics in any economic unit:

Self-sufficiency, efficiency, scope for development and decentralization

Cooperative Model

The underlying principle of this cooperative model is that it should provide economic incentives

for all stakeholders or principal economic agents who are affected by the presence and

functioning of street vendors.

The model described below is a model that can be implemented over time in a phased manner.

Firstly, the model proposes the demarcation of areas in Delhi. This demarcation would be the

crucial node which shall decide the degree of decentralization that the implemented model

would contain. The demarcation of Delhi into a large number of smaller areas shall represent a

preference for greater degree of decentralization and the demarcation into smaller number of

“cooperative zones” would show a preference for a lesser degree of centralization.

Let these demarcated areas representation one unit containing all the aforementioned

stakeholders. The model proposes the formation of “cooperatives” in each of these areas.

Each cooperative shall be formed by the vendors, shall function for the vendors and shall be

essentially “of” the vendors. These cooperatives shall be recognized by the government and

shall have to follow the rules and regulations that all cooperatives functioning within the

physical borders of the nation have to follow.

A pertinent query that needs to be addressed immediately concerns the skills of the street

vendors. Do street vendors have the necessary skills, resources and most importantly, the

acumen to utilize the resources in a manner that makes the cooperative economically and

socially viable?

“A very important factor that is inhibiting our drive to move towards a greater degree of

decentralization is the fact that human resource development at the local level is at a very

elementary level and therefore, our concerns over handing over power and responsibility to

those who are ill-equipped to handle them are genuine and pertinent”

-Ajay Maken, Honorable Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA)

January 14, 2013

To find the solution to this problem, we revisit the subject that provides us with the solutions-

Economics. One of the basic theories of Economics concerns demand and supply. In any

market, equilibrium is reached when demand equals supply. An inequality (and hence, a

disequilibrium) is a sign of inefficient allocation of resources and classical economic theory

suggests that a certain reallocation of resources would raise efficiency levels. In other words,

55

reallocation would increase the “size of the pie” and would potentially make “everyone better

off”. (Hal Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics).

The demand, in our context, would refer to the demand for impartment of skills to street

vendors to manage and organize themselves into a cooperative that performs various functions

described below. The supply, here, refers to institutions and organizations that would indulge in

such skill impartment. We have identified two such sources which, when mobilized with due

government support, can go a long way in skill impartment.

The first of these sources is via greater private sector involvement in skill transmittal. Corporate

Social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that is fast gaining popularity. The private sector, in an

attempt to “give back” to the society, indulges in many such activities. For instance, Nestlé- the

Swiss multinational nutritional, snack food, and health-related consumer goods company, is

engaged in massive human resource development. As measured by its revenues, it is the largest

food company in the world and its acts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), match its

stature. We describe below certain activities undertaken by Nestle to emphasize our point.

Under its Literacy Training Program, Nestle offers employees the opportunity to upgrade their

essential literacy skills and has set up special programs for those who, for one reason or

another, missed a large part of their elementary schooling.

Local training by Nestle also makes a very strong point. In Japan, for example, they consist of a

series of short courses typically lasting three days each. Subjects include human assessment

skills, leadership and strategy as well as courses for new supervisors and new key staff. In

Mexico, Nestlé set up a national training center in 1965. In addition to those following regular

training programs, some 100 people follow programs for young managers there every year.

Nestlé Pakistan runs 12-month programs for management trainees in sales and marketing,

finance and human resources, as well as in milk collection and agricultural services. These

involve periods of fieldwork.

In Nestle Singapore, to quote just one example, staff is given financial help to take evening

courses in job-related subjects. Fees and expenses are reimbursed for successfully following

courses leading to a trade certificate, a high school diploma, university entrance qualifications,

and a bachelor’s degree. For over 30 years, the Rive-Reine International Training Centre (of

Nestle) has brought together managers from around the world to learn from senior Nestlé

managers and from each other. Country managers decide who attends which course. It offers

management courses and executive courses in nearly all the countries it partners with.

It can be said that- “Through its education and training program, Nestlé manifests its belief that

people are the most important asset.”

56

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_corporation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast-moving_consumer_goods

The second source of human resource development can be traced to the social welfare

organizations that have worked for the advancement and amelioration of street vendors since a

substantial amount of time now. In particular, our case in point shall be NASVI whose works in

these matters have been applauded not only be national organizations but on international

platforms as well. Many such organizations would willingly, if given adequate room and

support, participate in human resource development of street vendors.

The task of the government, a “market-complementary” task, in this case, would be to create

supporting conditions for the demand and supply to come together to create an economically

efficient unit. Market complementary policies, whereby excess unmet demand in one market

can be fulfilled by diverting resources from a market that is marked by excess unwanted supply,

shall be the need of the hour and it would be the task of an intelligent, proactive government to

bring this about.

The following paragraphs shall focus on various aspects of this model:

Heading the cooperative:

The cooperative will be marked by 2-yearly elections in which any and all vendors can stand.

The power in the hands of the vendors will ensure democratic elections on regular basis and

norms and clauses that prevent the election of the same person to the same post time and

again will come helpful in this respect.

This legislative procedure has to be handled at the level of the Parliament with legislations

forbidding the reelection of the same group of people into positions of power time and again.

Social development organizations like NASVI and Manushi can be of great resource in such a

scenario since they are already involved in ensuring democratic elections in many vendor

organizations across Delhi.

Any concerns regarding the degree of “true” democracy that can exist in these cooperatives

should be put to rest immediately because every organization is prone to corruption and

mismanagement. The result depends on how the opportunity is used and how the difficulties

are overcome. A quintessential example of the same is the Chinese government. This

government could easily have become so corrupt and mismanaged that it could have

experienced a downfall soon after its management. Its success can partly be attributed to its

intelligent functioning. (Basu 2009)

Moreover, the level of corruption that exists under the current system would make it seem that

any system would perform better given the circumstances.

Facilities provided by the cooperative:

57

The cooperative shall charge the vendors an annual membership fee that shall be necessarily

less than the average amount that vendors end up paying as bribes in respective markets. As

per the principles of basic microeconomics, this ensures that street vendors have an incentive

to pay the annual membership fee and become a part of the cooperative that shall secure their

legal, social and economic rights rejecting the other option which spells greater levels of

uncertainty and harassment.

Since the amount of bribes differs from market to market (with larger and more popular

markets paying more), the annual fee shall also vary. Discounted to present value, this fee will

ensure that vendors have an incentive to join a cooperative and enjoy the benefits of greater

protection of social rights than have to worry about illegally vending. This ensures that all

vendors within the demarcated area have to, by default, becomes members of the cooperative.

Choosing any other path shall prove to be both costly and unwise.

The above shall be the first source of income for the cooperatives.

The cooperatives shall also charge a rent to vendors per square unit of area occupied by them.

Vendors desiring more space shall be liable to pay more. Applying the principles of basic

microeconomics, equilibrium amount of land required shall be attained by the equalization of

marginal cost of acquiring another unit of land relative to the marginal benefit that the vendor

derives from the land.

Encompassing into perspective the land scarcity that is characteristic of any metropolis, the

amount of money charged for each successive unit of land need not be uniform and can be

progressively escalating in value. This serves the twin advantages of curbing encroachments

(since the cooperative will ensure that no land that is unpaid for is used by the members since

this implies loss of revenue) and organization of street vendors. The area allotted to each

vendor may be demarcated by movable fences or low lying make shift walls that guarantee no

permanent disfigurement of pavements.

This shall be the second source of revenue for the cooperative.

The cooperatives, being designed along the lines of microfinance institutions, has potential to

perform a variety of tasks which it can venture into once the basic tasks of organization and

functioning are taken care of. Noting that this model is one that can only be implemented in

phases, the functions described below can be taken up by the cooperative in “Phase two”, so to

say.

Recognizing the pertinent absence of childcare facilities that inhibit a large proportion of

women to join the labor force, the cooperative can extend its activities to providing such

facilities to women vendors in return for a fee. The women who are providing the childcare

facilities, in turn, will get the opportunity to be employed and this can serve as a job creation

program.

58

The cooperative can also work along the lines of Grameen Banks adopted and popularized by

Mohd Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning economist. Vendors can deposit a sum to the

cooperative on a monthly basis on which they earn interest and which can be withdrawn at the

end of the period. If the vendor chooses to withdraw money earlier, he can do so after a

payment of a nominal fee. This money can, in turn, be extended as loans to members of the

cooperative. Working along the lines of a bank, it relies on “peer pressure” to ensure recovery

of loans and earns an interest on loans akin to how contemporary financial institutions work.

The difference between the interest earned and the interest paid shall be the third source of

revenue for the cooperative.

The popularity of this microfinance institution within the cooperative relative to that of formal

banking institutions is guaranteed because of the conveniences provided by such an institution

with regards to the requirements of documentation, identity cards, address proofs and most

importantly, collateral.

The cooperative shall also provide health care benefits to the poor for a nominal fee collected

monthly. Many SHGs in South India have been operating successfully by colleting a fee of Rs 10

per month from the poor classes and this sheer number of people ensures that all those in need

of serious medical care are provided with adequate facilities.

Thus, the cooperative functions in line with the principles of microeconomics. Every facility that

the cooperative provides has a fee associated with it to ensure that people pay up to the point

where their marginal cost equals marginal utility derived from the service and all services

operate only up till the socially optimum level, thus, reducing misappropriation of vital

economic resources.

With regards to the problems of crime and lack of accountability that the vendor profession is

often identified with, we have come up with the idea to issue unique Identification Cards to

each vendor who is a part of the cooperative. This ensures better security and also ensures

protection from exploitation since now behind each vendor stands an entire cooperative

formed by fellow vendors from the same market. This guarantees to be s definite step in the

direction of social empowerment and issuance of identification documents to street vendors.

These cooperatives shall be liable to pay annual fee to the state government as a return. This

shall ensure that it is economically profitable for the state government to allow the existence of

vendors. Street vendors contribute appreciably to the SGDP and annual fee from them as a

small percentage of their earnings will be sizeable. This shall, however, not be considered as a

tax since bringing street vending under taxation laws shall destroy its very essence and make it

legal. This model ensures that while cooperatives are legal, the vendors constituting the

cooperatives are not legal. The high degree of decentralization that the model proposes

ensures social empowerment of the vendors. Moreover, Indian economy has been subject to

red tapism and bureaucracy since Independence. Centralization clearly does not have much

59

historic evidence to support it. This decentralization shall ensure that while the vendors remain

under the board umbrella of the government, they are given enough powers that the system

ceases to rely on the mercy of government and becomes self-sufficient.

60

8 HERE AND THERE

: A COMPARITIVE STUDY That hawkers or street vendors have been a patent part of the Indian culture since ancient

times has been mentioned in all documented history (NASVI, 2013). Not only did they play a

crucial role in the lives of people, they were the chief apparatus of expansion of trade and relay

of information at a time when economic activities were still developing and communications

technology hadn’t reached the advancement that we see today.

Even today, hawkers play a no less important role in the global economy. Not only in India, their

presence is conspicuous in many countries of the world. Japan and Hong Kong would not be the

same without the hawkers that supply the celebrated street food that forms one of the major

tourist attractions of these places. Times Square (New York) would not be the same if one could

not expect to buy a pack of roasted peanuts off the small cart of the hawker that stands at the

street corner. Mumbai, the city noted for its spirit, would lose a part of its identity if one could

not buy Vada-pav off the street side.

Despite the distinctive importance of street vendors in our everyday lives, this section of the

population requires urgent attention. Notwithstanding their economic and social importance,

there is lack of assignment of rights and social recognition to these vendors.

For the purpose of this study, we compare the situation of hawkers in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur

(Malaysia) and Manila (Philippines) contrasting it with Delhi (India).

61

With four official languages (Chinese, Malay, English and Tamil), Singapore is a melting pot of

people from around the world who have helped shape its prosperity. This diversity is a

prominent consideration in how Singapore, a developed country, has dealt with the situation of

hawkers. Today, hawkers are a salient feature of the Singapore economy, forming a premier

tourist temptation.

In Singapore, all hawkers are registered with official authorities and their activities are strictly

controlled. The government has consolidated all street vendors into food centers dappled

across the map of the city. This ensures that no illegal vending takes place and at the same time

addresses the issue of traffic congestion and lack of organization. While it may confine vendors

to a particular spot, it enables the locals and tourists to locate their favorite eating spots. As the

result, places like Lau Pa Sat (a major hawker center) have become historically imbedded in the

history of the city.

Nonetheless, it was not always like this… Hawkers played an important part in the development

of Singapore as it grew into a bustling port city under the British. Migrants from China, Malaysia

and India came in large numbers to search of work and eventually settled in the city. Hawkers

provided these people with cheap access to a whole range of goods and services- be it food,

produce or essentials needed to run homes. Singapore River being the hub of economic activity,

most migrants settled along it; and where they went, the hawkers followed.

Through the early colonial years right up to the present day the economic value of hawking

activities is considerable. Since this trade required low levels of technical skills, education and

capital; the numbers of hawkers grew steadily as Singapore industrialized- especially so because

the work force depended on hawkers to supply them with cheap hot food.

However, in a country obsessed with cleanliness, the unregulated nature of street hawking

soon began to be linked to outbreaks of diseases as well as an increase in the population of

rats, vermin and mosquitoes. Moreover, lack of proper disposal facilities resulted in food and

liquid waste from the stalls of hawkers being the cause of contamination of the Singapore River.

As economic development gained a stronger foothold, apart from health and environmental

issues, street hawking also began affecting vehicular and pedestrian traffic along with

compromising on cleanliness. The initial government scheme that aimed to register the

hawkers failed as only a third of them willingly registered while the rest continued to ply

illegally.

The Government of Lee Kuan Yew was determined to make Singapore different from other

Asian countries. Yew decreed that “while the right of a Singapore citizen to a hawker’s license

was guaranteed” the right was conditional only if citizens did not endanger public health and

obstruct traffic. Accordingly, efforts were made to get the hawkers off the main streets and

relocate them to hawker centers, with piped water and a proper sewage and garbage disposal

system. 62

A delve into “The land of the Lion”: Singapore

A hawker registration program was started and the commission set about persuading and

educating hawkers that it was in their own interest to pursue their trade within permanent

licensed premises rather than in temporary shelters and being subjected to the vagaries of

nature and harassment from the police. To make it easier the rent charged for these permanent

market stalls was the same as the licensing fees levied when stalls were operated on the open

streets.

Along with enforcement, the government also made it mandatory that land which was being

redeveloped had to have a hawker center nearby so that the hawkers who were displaced

would have a steady business when people moved into these new housing colonies. These

centers had to be located close to the new developments so that people could walk to them or

take a short bus trip. The new centers were also not allowed to be located very close to each

other. This way through careful planning and strict control the Government of Singapore

ensured that hawker centers thrived and everyone benefited.

Once word got around that the new centers were generating good business, hawkers readily

moved in and the government was encouraged to build several such centers. Today Singapore

has 113 government market-cum hawker centers housing more than 6000 food stalls. The

Singapore Government also realized that hawker centers, besides offering food at low prices,

played an important social role. They were a unique community space for social interaction. So

with the hawkers off the streets, the government decided to keep upgrading the centers they

had built so that the social community thrived. In all, Singapore has spent nearly 420 million

SGD to refurbish these centers with modern amenities.

The Ministry of Environment also adopted a two-prong approach to the hawkers who moved

into these centers: “educate and regulate” so that good hygiene is maintained. A grading

system regulates the cleanliness of cooked food stalls. It covers several criteria – housekeeping,

cleanliness, food and personal hygiene. The grades range from A to D and have to be displayed

prominently on all stalls so people know the hygiene standards of the stalls they wish to

patronize. Since there is an annual review it ensures that stall keepers are kept on their toes.

Singapore regularly educates its public to patronize only those stalls, which have good

standards, and does all it can to ensure that all hawker centers are fully functional and quality is

maintained.

Many hawkers who are young and educated have taken over stalls originally allotted to their

parents. They are willing to experiment with new cuisines and therefore have become a major

Singapore tourist attraction as tourists throng to Hawker centers to sample their food and enjoy

a unique experience.

Rummaging through the land of eternal summer: Malaysia

63

The most significant feature about Malaysia is that it is one of the few countries in Asia that has

given some form of recognition to its street vendors. In 1990, Malaysia formulated the National

Policy on Hawkers. This was a comprehensive plan to tackle the social and economic problems

associated with street vending.

As in the case of the other South-East Asian countries apart from Singapore whose economy

continues to remain stable and strong, the number of illegal street hawkers in Kuala Lumpur

has risen sharply ever since the Asian financial crisis started due to which a number of people

lost their jobs and took to street vending.

The objective of the city of Kuala Lumpur was to relocate street hawkers to central sites in

densely populated residential areas and the industrial estates. Licensed street hawkers have

access to institutional credit as the government provides funds for this. Training programs are

organized regularly for licensed hawkers and they are taught about health and hygiene,

business skills, accounts, etc. But the problem of illegal hawkers continues as unemployment

rises and urbanization spreads. In Kuala Lumpur hawkers will flourish as long as people

continue to buy from them as the Government cannot control their activities since it has to

attend to other more pressing problems.

New York : The city that never sleeps

New York, the Big Apple, is a city that fuels the hopes and aspirations of millions of New Yorkers

including vendors, (as hawkers are called in USA). The city has over 10,000 vendors who sell

fruit, candy, clothes, hot dogs etc. on its streets. But as in other cities, Vendors face the same

problems as their compatriots in other major cities. The main threats come from the Police who

regularly haul them up and fine them $1000 for minor infractions like not displaying their

license prominently or not parking their carts the requisite 10 feet from the crosswalk! Since

most of these street vendors are immigrants they find it difficult to communicate in English,

which adds to their problems with the Police.

Perhaps the biggest problem Vendors face involves the laws governing the issuing of new

permits. Exceptions are made for summer permits and “green” permits for fruit and vegetable

peddlers, but, the cap on new, year-round, city-wide permits is 3,000 a year. So procuring one is

difficult. If a vendor is lucky he may get one after 10 to 15 years, therefore the only alternative

to most of them is to rent a permit and operate illegally.

Many immigrant Vendors enter this business to make a living and support their families, but

once they can speak English they take the opportunity and move on to other work like driving

yellow cabs, working as delivery boys or kitchen staff.

64

Fortunately for Vendors in New York, there are many advocacy groups like the Vendor Power

Project who fight for their rights. These groups focus on defending vendors in lawsuits and

getting cases dismissed, recovering confiscated property, networking, advocacy, and

negotiation. They also publish and distribute pamphlets written in different languages so that

new vendors can be made aware of their rights.

Tokyo: The land of rising sun

Street vendors first appeared in Japan four centuries ago, when the Edo Shogun issued special

vending passes to those who could not afford stores. The practice was briefly suspended during

World War II when food was rationed, but in the decades that followed, street vending, catered

to a new generation of people who enjoyed local food without the hassle of cooking it.

Until the late 1970s, vendors tramped Tokyo's streets, armed with goods and a gimmick.

However, once Japan opened its doors to the West restaurant chains and all night

supermarkets appeared vendors disappeared, replaced by 24-hour convenience stores and

complex vending machines.

In Tokyo vending is illegal as no licenses are issued to street vendors. If caught by the police

most are told to politely shut shop and move on. However, some companies have realized that

Vendors are the only people who have time to converse. So they are employing young people

to sell their products like tofu to the elderly homebound who are unable to walk to the super

markets thus reviving a tradition which has been forgotten.

DELHI: The city of Djinns

Hawking has been a profession practiced in Delhi since time immemorial, and street vendors

have been an integral part of the urban history and culture of Delhi. Shopping and marketing, in

the traditional Indian sense, has primarily been informal. Social interaction is integral to Indian

markets in contrast to the mechanized and sterile concept of shopping favored by modern

super market structures. Every social system must cater to the needs of its members to enable

them to survive; it must have effective means of allocating and distributing resources. Vendors

provide a wide array of goods and commodities to the urban populace at reasonable prices and

convenient locations. The type of goods they sell range from daily needs like vegetables, fruits,

fish, meat and snacks to occasional needs like flowers and readymade garments appeal to all

classes of society. It would be hard to find a citizen of Delhi who doesn’t purchase something

from a vendor. Hawkers move from colony to colony hawking their wares and saving

housewives the bother of going to the market daily. They sell cheap stuff from pavements in

markets and for many it is the thrill of bargaining, which adds to the pleasure of shopping.

While the hawkers of Delhi take over pavements and make negotiating them impossible yet the

65

add color to the very fabric of our society. Miserable as their existence is they are a part of our

lives and without them there would be a void in society.

In Delhi, urbanization is the most significant phenomena of a city that has become the main job

provider to thousands of migrants who pour into it every day from poor states like Bihar and

West Bengal. Since most of these people are uneducated they end up working as casual

laborers and hawkers. However, the government of Delhi is ill prepared to address their

problems. Planning and governance continue to be the preserve of the politician-mafia-

bureaucrat nexus. Whatever policy exists it is poorly implemented. There is unabated official

and social hostility towards hawkers who are generally regarded as a public nuisance.

The Government of Delhi continues to remain oblivious to the plight of vendors who are

victimized, harassed, marginalized and pushed from one area to another. Rolling stones gather

no moss; so it is with the hawkers. Having migrated to the city in search of employment and

finding none, they take to hawking as self-employment is an easier option, perhaps the most

promising avenue for the poor to eke out an existence as they usually have nothing to go back

to in their villages. Many hawkers are erstwhile workers, who after the closure of mills and

factories have taken to vending. Some are victims of displacement caused by developmental

projects. Yet others are landless displaced people who have escaped from the drudgery of

working in villages for low pay. Some are survivors of natural disasters who have lost everything

to the fury of Nature. All of them are looking for work and a better life which they believe they

can find in the city of Delhi and the NCR region.

Municipal officials in Delhi like that of Kuala Lumpur regularly subject hawkers to mental and

physical pressures. A major problem is that the master plan prepared for Delhi does not

allocate space to vendors/hawkers so they have no legal rights as everybody considers their

activities illegal. Also, so many people make their way to Delhi everyday to join the millions

already in the city that it is impossible for the Government to regulate or control hawkers.

The coming of MNC’s and gigantic supermarkets and malls has meant that weekly markets

struggle to survive and natural markets are ignored. The poor turn to hawkers to supply them

with their daily needs. They are usually able to source fresh supplies and sell at low margins of

profit as compared to the outlets run by the Government and co-operatives.

Hawkers have learnt deal with multiple authorities – the municipal corporation, police, regional

development authorities, district administration, local Panchayat etc. and the exploitation and

extortion that follows. They accept it as a necessary evil, which they know, will allow them to

ply their trade. In many instances the positive steps taken by one authority are nullified by the

actions of others.

While Singapore is a small island nation and could control the influx of migrants, Delhi like

Manila and Kuala Lumpur is a city with open borders and bound by the Indian Constitution

66

which guarantees to its citizens the right to work wherever they wish. Also, poverty and an

exploding population make it impossible for the Government to control the influx into the city.

Unlike Singapore where the Government stopped issuing licenses to hawkers once the existing

ones were all registered, in Delhi there is no system of licensing even those who have applied

for licenses years ago have not received them as very often Government schemes are

introduced but there is no follow up or closure. In a city as vast as Delhi the Government finds it

difficult to cope civil problems and hawkers come very low on its list. However, there are

lessons to be learnt from the Singapore model, which could mitigate the problem.

If these Municipal Corporations wants the betterment of Delhi they have to address the

problem of Vendors and hawkers. The Government of Singapore could achieve their dream of a

‘clean and green Singapore’ only by ruling with an iron fist but they worked hard to explain and

educate people as to why certain measures had to be undertaken. Similarly, if the Corporations

of Delhi could put their differences aside and work to identify areas where hawkers could be

accommodated they could work peacefully without having to contend with police harassment

and this would mitigate the problem to a great extent.

As long as poverty exists no matter how developed the nations of Asia become the hawker will

continue to play an important role. Only Singapore has been able to manage its hawker

problem but that is because it is a small country compared to India and it’s prosperity and

stable government enabled it to offer its hawkers a better life.

While efforts are being made to include Hawkers in the new Master Plan being prepared for

Delhi and NGO’s and Courts have taken cognizance of the plight of hawkers implementation of

ideas and laws is very important in a country like India. Change has always been challenged but

legal systems need to give quick judgments and help formulate good policies. Like Singapore

and other Asian cities, official acknowledgement that Vendors play an important part in

fulfilling the needs of society and paying heed to their cause would go a long way in solving the

problem. Providing them with permanent places to sell their wares from and granting them

licenses with photo identity could also help.

Delhi unlike the other Singapore, Manila and Kuala Lumpur is not being redeveloped it is

spreading to the NCR region. So it may not always be possible to build market place centers to

house hawkers. But they could ply their trade by being restricted to certain areas in busy

markets so that they stopped being a public nuisance. In many cases, Vendors who are

educated have realized the need to fight for their rights but the legal process is expensive and

very often this leads to more exploitation as they have no permanent addresses. Hawkers move

regularly as new options open up. Many work on a seasonal basis. The hawkers in Delhi face

problems, which can be overcome, only if the official system is over hauled. Delhi is a city

where several departments are involved and all pull in different directions owing allegiance to

different political parties. So getting consensus is difficult. However, all citizens want their city

67

to improve and the government is taking tentative steps in that direction. Maybe with time, the

problems concerning Hawkers will get due diligence but until that time hawkers will continue to

thrive uncontrolled.

We must however learn from the experiences of countries like Singapore who have developed

a well regulated system of street vending. Issue of conditional licenses to vendor’s in Singapore

ensures cleanliness of the city and does not even cause vendors to become traffic hazards

.The hawker center’s that were established by the Singapore government also play an

important social role apart from performing the function of absorbing a large part of labor

force . We should learn the positive experiences of such countries and try to adopt their policies

in Indian context .The Government and the general publics have to work together as one unit if

all sections of society can continue to make Delhi the city of their dreams.

68

9 A CONCLUSIVE

WORD

Delhi, India : For nearly 3 decades 65 year old Tamil Selvi has been rendering silent service from the dusty corner in the inner circle at Connaught Place. At the crack of the down she sorts and buys vegetables’ from the Azadpurmandi. On average the old frail lady carries 15 kilograms of goods daily and reaches her rickety makeshift stall by 7 am .She earns about Rs. 150 -200 per

day and supports a family of 4 with this meager amount .Selvi reveals that even after 3 decades she doesn’t possess a permanent license for vending while all her co- vendors have one .The

authorities remove her stall about 2 times a week and on day when things are worse her whole stall is also confiscated .

“The informal economy may be informal but its neither small nor inconsequential and law

need to catch up this thriving reality “

Street vendors are an asset for urban economies ,this is reiterated by their economic contribution and significance to urban life .It is an important income generating activity which leads to upward mobility and contributes to economic self-reliance. Most of the street vendors are major breadwinners in poor households. There are about 10 million street vendors in India creating employment for themselves, but the law isn’t always their ally. We, through our research study have tried to look at various aspects of street vending ranging from their socio economic contribution, position in the society and attitude of various sections of the society towards them Street vending and poverty are two sides of the same coin .Our study reveals that majority of the vendors were barely able to make ends meet with their earnings ranging between Rs 200 to 500 per day24 .The real problem was not actually the shortage of funds but the economic

24

See Appendix

69

burden caused by large number of dependents in the family . On an average, a family size of 6 had 4-5 dependents. A huge volatility in their incomes was highlighted by our survey .If the vendors are lucky they will make a fortune in a day, else go home with nothing. The economic performance of the self-employed vendors is generally contingent upon two factors:

personal factors (such as entrepreneurial skills)

Environmental factors (such as supportive government policy).

The research findings support the case that environmental factors are more important than personal factors for the less privileged self-employed vendor who faces many constraints. Such a cobweb in the pattern of earning points towards the need to develop a social security system which will probably give them a sense of financial security and inclusion. Even after decades of political deliberation on the national policy for vendors they are still considered to be illegal, encroach on public land and a source of chaos and nuisance. To make matters worse regulation on street vending generally follows the “conflict model”. Various town authorities often issue eviction orders arbitrarily on the pretext of traffic jams, health reasons, public inconvenience and encroachment. Financial debt was another problem being faced by the vendor . Although the study did not delve into the causes of debt, it can be concluded that debts originated from the lack of working capital and deficit funds for household consumption. We would like to point out that the persistence and increase in the number of street vendors is a response to the trend of globalization, limiting employment opportunities. People engaged in street vending are no longer only the illiterate class but even graduates are pursuing this profession due to paucity of jobs in the formal sector. Madan Mohan a B.com (Hons) graduate who vends at Connaught Place (inner circle) reveals that he was forced to take up this profession as he could not get a job either in the public or private sector. Often a street vendor’s income is limited by the natural forces, seizure of goods and insecurity of losing the space for vending. What a vendor needs is an enabling environment in which he can develop his entrepreneur skills peacefully, maximize his profits and maintain a decent standard of living. It is important to recognize this informal section of the society who contribute 0.34% to the GDP of the nation and above all provide goods and services to the people of India. According to our study these are the problems and difficulties that vendors face while carrying

out the profession of street vending:

1.Problems faced by the street vendors to acquire the license(Teh-Bazaari)

70

For the convenience of the reader I would like to explain the term and its various classifications.

Teh-bazaari is a license fee for carrying on a business on the streets within a municipality. Teh-

bazaari is further classified as a regular teh-bazaari (right to squat and carry on business on a

regular basis during a year), temporary teh-bazaari (right to squat and carry on business for a

short period of time, festival teh-bazaari (right to squat and do business on festivals.), Sunday

/holiday teh-bazaari (right to carry business on holidays).It is further classified as a an open and

a covered teh-bazari. Open teh-bazaari is issued to the vendors who do not have any roof over

his head to do business while covered is issued to those who are entitled to a constructed roof

or shelter. Teh-bazari is issued by the municipality on payment of license fee. It is mandatory

for the hawkers in Delhi to possess a teh-bazari to vend in Delhi, but loopholes are often found

by the vendors and many of them operate without licenses.

According to the MCD or the municipal cooperation of Delhi and the NDMC or the New Delhi

Municipal Committee, an eligible hawker is the one who possess permanent or temporary teh-

bazari .A dept. Commissioner of MCD says “there are thousands of hawkers in Delhi and their

number increases by the day. There are no statistics on hawker hence it becomes very difficult

to provide licenses to all. We strictly follow the rules of the Chopra committee”.

But for a hawker it is a tough battle to get a licenses’. Presence of red-tapism, corruption and

inefficiencies in the system force the workers to pay ‘hafta’ (a kind of a bribe) and continue to

vend without proper licenses or permission to vend.

According to ‘The Hindu’ ,the agencies have to accommodate close to 1.5 lakh street vendors

found eligible by them. Around 1.3 lakh vendors had applied for teh-bazari licenses in MCD

areas and approximately 4,000 sought licenses in NDMC areas. While the civic agencies have

formed vending committees to monitor the license system, hawkers say little has been done for

their welfare.

2. Harassment by police authorities

Mr. Ajay Maken, minister for housing and poverty alleviation, GOI said that “Once passed by

Parliament, the Central Law would prevail over all State municipal laws. It would go a long way

in protecting vendors from harassment at the hand of municipal and police authorities. It would

do away with the license system that has become a tool to victimize and harass the vendors.”

But many of the vendors don’t feel the same. According to our survey, many vendors revealed

that police authorities continue to harass them in spite of having licenses’ or teh-bazaari.

While surveying Push Vihar market, a weekly market in South Delhi, the Pradhan told our team

that 1 out of 5 vendors are harassed every week. Harassment done by the authorities is interms

of physical abuse and confiscation of goods without any reason. Many also admitted that they

were beaten up by them on refusal to give them goods free of cost.

71

The vendors of Rajouri Garden market in West Delhi alleged that they were being harassed by

PCR cops for the past many years and repeated complaints to senior officials had not yielded

any results. They said after dusk, the cops would come to them and ask them to pack eatables.

If the vendors asked for money, they would reportedly be abused and maltreated. They were

also threatened of dire consequences if they “dared to ask a cop for money.”

An Ice-cream vendor, Surinder Kumar, in Connaught Place(Central Delhi) alleged that the cops

took vegetables free of cost from him. “When I asked for money, he gave me Rs 10 which was

less than the real amount. Later, he came with another policeman and both threatened me. He

said he would implicate me in a poppy husk case,” he alleged.

On enquiring about this with Police authorities, police refused to comment on this issue but

told us that often customer especially foreigner are cheated and prices charged to them are

much higher. Therefore they are required to interfere and deal with these vendors harshly to

solve matters. They also said that these hawkers create a lot of public nuisance and traffic

congestion. Pedestrians do not have space for mobility. They with or without their knowledge

pave way for illegal activity. Since hawker invite crowds, pick-pocketing become rampant in

their locality.

3. Harassment by NDMC/MCD

“MCD authorities harass us the most “said the Pradhan of Daryaganj Book Market.”Quite often

we manage things with the police by paying them hafta but it is quite difficult with the MCD’s.

The officials of MCD and NDMC confiscate goods and it is quite difficult to get these goods back

from them’’. He said MCD has set charges for composition, transportation and storage of

confiscated goods and it is a tedious process to get them back .The rates are Rs.20, 10 and 3 per

day respectively. Many say this is not done often but when it takes place it leads to a lot of loss.

Most often, the value of the goods is less than the bribes paid to get back their goods. In such

cases Hawkers prefer to forget about their goods and start something right from scratch.

Another interesting fact is that MCD officials take fines from the vendors who do not posses a

teh-bazaari or a MCD parchi(License).But this fine is often more than that authorized by the

MCD act/authorities. The parchi of the fine is that of the amount of the fine but vendors are

mistreated and harassed to give more than the authorized amount.

The money collected by the MCD officials by the MCD officials is remitted in the bank (i.e. the

accountable collection) rest is divided amongst the officials.

Another problem faced by the vendors is at the time of license acquirement. Many hawkers are

denied licenses even if they are able to produce all the relevant documents .This is because

they are unable to pay hefty bribes or licenses have already been issues to hawkers who have

connections with the MCD or the politicians (i.e. MLA or MP’s of that area).

72

4. Convoluted system of regulation with no clarity about the rules/regulations and their rights.

Many of the vendors we surveyed were unaware of their rights and the rules and regulations

laid out for them by the authorities. With high levels of illiteracy amongst the vendor, vendors

are unable to fight for their rights nor are in position to complain to higher authorities. Many

NGO’s and human rights activist are fighting for the rights of the vendor and make vending a

legal activity but still nothing concrete have come up till now.

Also, these people are in a desperate state to carry on their business that many go ahead by

flouting rules, even if known.

5.Long working hours without break or rest/Inaccessibility to social security scheme

The ‘Decent Work’ can be defined as protective work wherein rights are protected specifically

employment ,income and social protection of workers, which can be achieved without

compromising workers ‘rights and social standards. This would thereby ensure poverty

reduction by increasing work opportunities, rights actualization at work, social protection and

greater voice of the workers which in turn associated would result in improvement of workers’

capabilities and their overall well-being.25

According to National Commission on Labor, street vendors are identified as self-employed

workers in the informal sector who offer their labor for selling goods and services on the street

without having any permanent built-up structure26 . However, literatures4 have stated many

problems of street vendors regarding their social protection, working condition, credit

accessibility, and their public space utilization. Even National Policy on Urban Street Vendors

(2004) has also pointed out the major problems and recommended policies on their livelihood

conditions, social protection, economic activity, organizations or associations for collective

bargaining.

According to ILO, only 8% of the workers are covered under the various schemes of the

government which provides them to meet their basic needs like food, water, education

and medical. This 8% covers workers from both formal and informal sector.

25

ILO,1999

3Bhowmik 2001

4 Bhowmik and Ajnara,2001

73

Also, these hawkers work for seven days a week without any weekly off or any off on festivals

as any kind of off is a loss of earnings for them. They work for 12-15 hours a day in scorching

heat of summer or shivering winters of Delhi without any breaks.

6.Lack of basic amenities

Vendors face lack of basic amenities like proper clean toilets, clean water and electricity. They

are deprived of any kind of proper structures to display their products, which in turn leads to

encroachments and traffic congestions, thus causing chaos on roads.

Many vendors in CP conveyed that toilets were constructed during the time of Common Wealth

Games in Delhi but lack of proper sanitation prevents them from going inside.

Vendors in other markets also informed that due unavailability of clean water forces them to

travel long distances .Often these vendors fall prey to many water borne diseases. Vendors also

spend Rs.20 a day on generators to carry on their business after sunset.

The majority of urban informal workers live in poor areas, lack of basic health and welfare

services and social protection and work in an unhealthy and unsafe working environment.

Vulnerability to diseases and poor health result from a combination of undesirable living and

working conditions.

7. Lack of proper credit facilities

The study reveals that the street vendors depend on the money lenders for credit accessibility

as well as for social security purposes. Interestingly, the result shows that the street vendors

are also forced to borrow at exorbitant rate of interest more so for the social security purposes

that lead them to fall into a debt-trap situation, which is a matter of a deep concern. This study

also reveals that around 80 percent vendors need social protection. All vendors are surviving

either by their savings or by borrowing from other at high rate of interest. They have scarce

resources, namely credit, for their trade and need to obtain credit since they have no access to

credit from the formal financial institutions particularly for their economic activities5. But this

vending process works on a daily turnover basis and they are surviving successfully.

They borrow money from different sources such as money lenders ,relatives and friends. They

even borrow money for their social protection purposes in terms of health care, medicine,

maternity, accidents, child education and marriages.

8.Exploitation and harassment by customers(especially with women vendors)

Women vendors occupy about 3-4% of the total vendors of a market. Most of them usually

work in order to supplement the family income or they are forced to work due to unfortunate

74

circumstances at their homes. Many women vendors said they faced no harassment at

workplace by their colleagues but lack of proper hygiene and sanitation was a major cause of

concern. They said they had come to adjust with the pathetic state of infrastructure but still

hoped that the authorities would do something for them.

Most of them said they faced no exploitation by the police or the MCD/NDMC but still faced

problems while attaining licenses and at times of confiscation of goods.

Different NGOs, SHGs, Co-operatives through SEWA , NASVI ,Manushi etc. are coming forward

by providing social security and many other basic requirements but the numbers are very few.

They promote the concept of ‘decent work’ and helps to provide access to social security and

promote and provide their rights, better occupational environment environments in terms of

safety and healthy work place; work security; accessing formal credit institutions; and through

strong social dialogue by unions or any other member based organizations.

Policy Recommendations

Street vending and urban space constitute an important policy theme that needs to be advanced further

in development literature and policy. Our Survey endings confirm that the policies on street food vending

should take into consideration the structural and individual context; diversity of food vendors

ranging from types of vending unit; economic performance; types of food sold; food hygiene; and more

importantly the role of street food vending in strengthening grassroots economic reliance.

The importance of street vending as an option for the poor is well-recognized among policymakers.

However, it is still defined as illegal, and development policies/programmes have little focus on supporting

street vendors. Their entitlements to their means of livelihoods, i.e. their space to sell, is not guaranteed

and left precarious, even when they are contributing to the state coffers through taxes. This ambivalent

status makes street vendors vulnerable to all sorts of extortion. Further, they also have few mechanisms

for mutual help. This makes them even more vulnerable.

In order to secure street vendors’ rights to occupation, the following recommendations are made:

Officially recognize street vending and amend policy contradictions .

The central law is now long awaited, after the introduction of national street vendor policy 2004 and 2009

in the parliament not much has been done by the state to get a well-defined and full-fledged law for street

vending . In the absence of much activity from the state street vendors have started organizing them into

their own small groups and have increasingly become a part of NGO’S like NASVI , SEWA . However, the

government exigently needs to address the feeling of discontent and neglect by the authorities that s

perpetuating amongst the vendors.

75

Involve the Vendors’ Association in developing development plans for vendors

While some studies have suggested that state presence is important for development process therefore

state should be the regulating institution. Some others believe that independent street vendor’s

organizations should be allowed and they manage their own profession. There must be synergy between

the state and vendor organizations and they must work collectively for the development of vendors

Establish schemes for provision of financial and social security .

Study reveals that the street vendors depend on the money lenders for credit accessibility as well as for

social security purposes. Interestingly, the result shows that the street vendors are also forced to borrow

at exorbitant rate of interest more so for the social security purposes that lead them to fall into a debt-

trap situation, which is a matter of a deep concern. All vendors are surviving either by their savings or by

borrowing from other at high rate of interest. Thus, it can be said that social security is the basic need and

new social security schemes for the poor are the need of the hour.

Stringent enforcement of right to livelihood

While recognizing the need for regulation of street vending through establishment of proper institutions ,

we also strict policies that protect the spirit of the Constitution of India on the rights to work and equal

protection before the law. There should be stringent enforcement of right to livelihood. The social

organizations should also participate in the urban development process and provide voice to street

vendors in case of conflict with the government.

Review Relocation policy .

It is noted that a number of street vendors live in squatter areas. We observed that street vendors live

very close to the places where they sell, and this is how they manage their long working hours and save

transportation costs. If they are relocated, there is no way that they can continue with their livelihood.

The relocation policy needs to be reviewed so that, in addition to housing, livelihood and workplace issues

are also taken into consideration.

More social investment (credit, child care, education, health)

Interventions and support for the urban poor are currently happening at a very paltry scale .Our survey

revealed that street vendors have long working hour (average 8-10 hrs ) and they are hardly at home.

They spend most of their time in the market. Thus we need to develop adequate social infrastructure to

meet their need .It is important that support to the urban poor is also routed through workplaces.

Fill information gaps and make vendors more aware

76

Most of times vendors were not aware of the existing system of regulations and law, so huge information

gaps exist To address this issue firstly improved access to information needs to be provided to street

vendors. Further, the relationship between street vendors and the authorities needs to be strengthened.

The government’s perception that the presence of street food vending is unsightly and creates disorder in

the city must be changed. It must regard street food vending as nurturing a space for entrepreneurship.

Thus, more than a structural and an institutional change what we require is an attitudinal change that

recognizes street vending as a respected profession. Street vendors should not be viewed as problem;

they should be viewed as micro entrepreneurs and be accepted as a pivotal section of the society.

77

References

Kumar, Randhir. “The Regularization of Street Vending in Bhubaneshwar, India: A Policy Model” Inclusivecities.org. June 2012.

Naik, Abhayraj. “Contextualising Urban Livelihoods: Street Vending in India” March 20, 2013.

Sekar, Helen R., Vulnerabilites and Insecurities of Informal Sector Workers. : A Study of Street

Vendors

Bhowmik, Sharit K. & Saha, Debdulal Hawkers in urban informal sector: Street Vending in Ten

Cities in India

Gaber, John (1994). “Manhattan’s 14th Street Vendors Market: Informal Street

Peddlers Complementary Relationship with New York City’s Economy.”

Urban Anthropology (23: 373-408).

Advani (1998 ) Legal status of vendors , Labour Files , New Delhi , November

Mahajan , A , problems of the aged in Unorganized sector , Mittal Publications, Delhi

Hawkers and National Policy (1991) Self Employed Womens Association , New Delhi

Bhowmik, K. S. (2000) Urban Responses to Street Trading: India, Street Vendors:

A Symposium on Reconciling People’s Livelihood and Urban Governance

Bhowmik, S. K. (2000) Urban Response to Street Trading: India, Street Vendors- A Symposium

on Reconciling People’s livelihood and Urban Governance - www.nasvi.net

Bhowmik, S. K., Hawkers in Urban Informal Sector: A Study of Street Vendors in Six Cities,

National Alliance of Street Vendors of India – www.nasvi.net

Charmes, Jacques (2000). “Informal Sector, Poverty and Gender: A Review of Empirical

Evidence.” Background paper for the World Development Report 2001.

78

http://www.nasvi.net/

http://www.nasvi.net/

Geertz, Clifford (1978). “The Bazaar Economy: Information and Search in Peasant Marketing.”

American Economic Review (68: 28-32).

1 V Helen R. Sekar , vulnerabilities and Insecurities of Informal Sector Workers.

Hawkers Street Vendors Eviction Law - Bellagio Declaration, Labour File, November 1998

Press Information Bureau ,Government of India:Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Gaber, John (1994). “Manhattan’s 14th Street Vendors Market: Informal Street ,Peddlers Complementary Relationship with New York City’s Economy.” Anthropology (23: 373-408).

WEBSITES

http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Sinha_WIEGO_PB2.pdf http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/Selected_Publications/Legalising_SV.pdf http://wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Sinha_WIEGO_PB2.pdf


http://nasvinet.org/newsite/ http://nasvinet.org/newsite/http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/interns2010/abhigna-

as_different-ideas-for-licersing-street-vendors.pdf

http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/interns2010/abhigna-as_different-ideas-for-licersing-street-vendors.pdf http://www.vvgnli.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/

79












APPENDIX

Vendor Tables

1. Age: Vendors and Consumers (%)

Age group Vendor Consumers

0-18 11 2

19-25 31 22.4

26-40 44 48

41-55 12 20

56 and above 2 7.6

Total 100 100

2. Gender : Vendors and Consumers

Gender Percentage

Male – Vendors 86

Male - Customers 52

3. Education of the Respondents

Education level Percentage

Illiterate 24

Primary Education 32

Secondary 37

Higher 6

Vocational training 1

Total 100

4. Vendor – employment pattern

Employment pattern percentage

Self employed 82

Wage earner 18

Total 100

80

5. Home State of venders

States Percentage

Bihar 61

UP 1.6

Rajasthan 1.5

Haryana 29

Nepal 1.1

Bangladesh, others 5.8

Total 100

6. Category of items sold

Category Percentage

Vegetables 21

Dairy products 2.7

Jewellery, Decorative items 18.7

Clothes 18.8

Earthen ware 3.5

Eatables 30.5

Miscellaneous 4.8

Total 100

7. Family Monthly Income and Expenditure pattern of the Vendor Respondents (%)

0-1000 (Rs.)

1001-2000(Rs.)

2001-3000(Rs.)

3001-4000(Rs.)

4001-5000(Rs.)

5001 and above(Rs.)

Total

Income 21 35.5 21.5 12.11 9 .89 100

Expenditure 17 25.15 21.8 19.46 15.59 1 100

8. Family Monthly Income pattern of the Consumer Respondents

Working pattern of vendors (%)

Range (days) No. working days Range(years) Years spend

0-4 1 0-4 21.5

5-8 18.5 5-8 32

9-12 59.2 9-12 25

Category (Rs.) Percentage

0-1000 2

1001-2000 3

2001-3000 15

3001-4000 13

4001-5000 65

5001 and above 2

Total 100

81

12 and above 21 12 and above 21.5

Total 100 Total 100

9. Venders with license/teh-bazari

Category Percentage

License 18.7

Teh-bazari 18.8

10. Time period for getting license

11. Methods for getting license

Methods Percentage

Political patronage 5.5

Bribe 17.35

Other methods 21.55

No response 55.6

Total 100

12. Vendors’ Willingness to relocate: Responses (%)

Percentage

Willing to locate 51.4

Unwilling to locate 47.5

No response 1.1

Total 100

13. Organizations supporting Vendors: Awareness level of vendors

Percentage

Market Welfare organizations 22.8

Functions of Market Welfare organizations 11.3

Legal rights 18.8

NGOs, NASVI,SEWA and other institutions 36

Total 100

14. Sources of startup capital for Vendors

Source Percentage

Money lender 13


Time period Percentage

Less than a year 3.5

1-2 years 2.3

2-3 years 1.1

More than 3 years 93.1

Total 100

82

Organised financial sector 1.4

Own funds 23.5

Others 21.5

Total 100

15. Rate of interest paid on startup capital

Rate Percentage

1-5 31.5

6-10 7.6

11-15 11.5

More than 15 10.4

Do not know 39

Total 100

16. Source of credit for Vendors

Source Percentage

Money lender 5.1



Own funds 15.3

Others 15

No response 45.5

Total 100

17. Frequency of borrowing


Occasionally 30

Frequently 38

Hardly ever 13.5

Do not know 18.5

Total 100

18. Vendors facing harassment (%)

Percentage

Harassment- Police 77.7

Harassment – officials 12

No response 10.3

Total 100

19. Nature of harassment (%)

Nature Percentage

Physical abuse 12

Monetary 35.5

Confiscation of property 37.5

Verbal abuse 11

Sexual harassment 2

83

Any other 2

Total 100

20. Frequency of harassment (%)


Occasionally 35

Frequently 37

Very rare 15

No response 13

Total 100

21. Payment of Bribe (%)

Percentage

Bribe paid 68

Not paid 20

No response 12

Total 100

22. Recipient of bribe (%)

Recipient Percentage

MCD official 30.7

Police 25.5

NDMC 16.8

No response 27

Total 100

23. Amount paid to recipient by the vendors (%)

Amount Percentage

100-500 40.8

501-1000 20.2

1001-1500 4

1501 and above 2

No response 33

Total 100

24. Complaints against harassment registered by the vendors (%)

Percentage

Registered 13

Not registered 70

No response 17

Total 100

25. Complaint registering agency (%)

84

Percentage

Police 12

Officials 15

Elected representative 17

No response 56

Total 100

26. Vendors satisfied with grievance redressal mechanism

Percentage

Satisfied 24

Not satisfied 40.5

No response 35.5

Total 100

Consumer Response Tables

1. Educational Qualification

Qualification Percentage

No education 15

Primary 9

Secondary 15

Graduation and above 61

Total 100

2. Occupation

Percentage

Salaried 63

Self employed 26

Others 11

Total 100

3. Share of purchase from venders

Purchase Share Percentage of response

Below 10 12

10-25 20

26-40 15

41-60 19

61-75 21

76 and above 13

Total 100

85

4. Major Goods purchased from vendors

Goods Percentage of response

Vegetables and fruits 30

No veg items 5

Bread, egg 25

Kitchenware 9.5

Clothes 10

Miscellaneous 20

5. Opinion regarding the quality of goods purchased

Percentage

Very Good 42.5

Good 30

Bad 22.5

No response 5

Total 100

6. Consumer behavior- select indicators

Opinion Percentage of consumer responses

Consumers purchase from vendors on a regular basis

78

Consumers purchase from same vendors Market

75

Consumers purchase from same vendors regularly

48

7. Opinion regarding the congestion caused

Percentage of consumer responses

Vendors- as Major Cause of traffic congestion 43

Vendors - Minor impact on traffic congestion 39

Vendors – No impact on traffic congestion 13

Cannot say 5

Total 100

Reduction of traffic congestion: Relocation of Vendors


Reduction of traffic congestion- Do not want relocation of vendors

82

Reduction of traffic congestion- Demand relocation of vendors

12.6

86

No response 5.4

Total 100

8. Price variations - Vendors Vs. Regular shops


Vendor-More Expensive 22

Vendor-Same price of regular shops 22.3

Vendor-Less Expensive 53.7

Cannot say 2

Total 100

87

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT - Econ-Jobs.com...ACKNOWLEGDEMENT Most acknowledgements begin with an expression of...

Documents

Transcript of ACKNOWLEGDEMENT - Econ-Jobs.com...ACKNOWLEGDEMENT Most acknowledgements begin with an expression of...