INFORMAL SECTOR

(CHENNAI)

PRITHIVI MOHAN2120200111

4th Sem, 2nd yearDept. of Planning

SPA-Vijayawada

Studies have shown that, all over India, street vendors have paid more than Rs.400 crore annually as bribes. Everyday they wage a relentless battle to retain their vending spots. Many of them work for long hours at designated areas to make a buck or two. For some it is a primary source of income, whereas some treat it as a part-time job – another source to meet the growing needs of their families and rising prices.

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

Basic profile of street vendors The survey revealed that 95.2% of the 63 respondents are within the 18-60 age-bracket. This implies that these vendors, who are technically a part of the able working force, have remained in the informal sector of the economy. With respect to their area of trade, nearly three-fourths of the vendors are involved in selling fruits and flowers as well as general food items. While the gender ratio seems to be nearly equal (32 females and 31 males), it was observed that the majority of the female street vendors sell fruits, vegetables and flowers, while the males generally tend to sell food items (tender coconut, fast food etc.). Furthermore, 47% of these street vendors have been here for longer than five years; most have been here for longer than ten years.

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

MARINA BEACH

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

INFORMAL SHOPS LOCATED IN MARINA

• Ice cream shops• Cool drinks• Accessories shops• Sea shell shops• Toys• Balloons • Horse riding• Fish stall• Food items• Photography etc.

Scores of vendors and hawkers operate on the Marina, along with food stall owners, joy ride operators and vendors who offer horse riding for a fee. The Madras High Court, in an interim injunction, restrained civic authorities from permitting the hawkers and vendors to carry on their business on the beach. Most of the vendors and hawkers work in two or more than two jobs to earn sufficient money to run their families.

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

Siva Kumar*, a vendor who resides in Mt.Road, sells fruit juice in the morning and returns to the beach at 4 o’clock to sell balloons. “These days you cannot sustain your family with one job. The expenses are too high. Money which I get from selling juice and balloons is irregular. Sometimes I make good money sometimes I don’t. During weekends I make Rs.400 but, it is not the same during weekdays,” he says.*name changed

P. Ramakrishna*, an ice-cream vendor, also dabbles in two professions to make his ends meet. He is a fisherman by day and an ice-cream vendor by night. “The stretch from Anna Square to Light House is divided into different areas with more than 2000 vendors. Each area has an association which collects Rs.20 per individual per month, to pay the policemen. Ramakrishna says, “I live in the nearby fishing village* and my family depends primarily on fishing. Being the sole earning member of my family, I took up this job of selling ice-cream. If the government plans to relocate us, where will I go?”

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

hawkers on the Marina Beach

CHENNAI: An association of hawkers on the Marina Beach has approached the Madras high court challenging an earlier order asking authorities not to allow shops on the promenade. It also sought to be impleaded as a party to the pending proceedings.Noting that the vendors had been doing business all these years without causing any hindrance to public and visitors, the petition said all the shops are makeshift facilities and no permanent construction had been made by them on the beach. They functioned from 3pm to 10pm, and there was no justification for the authorities to interfere with their routine, without following any mandatory procedure of law.

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

 The Street Vendors’ (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012 is an outcome of the Supreme Court’s recognition of ‘street vending’ as a source of livelihood after long struggle by vendors associations, unions and civil society. The draft was approved by the Union cabinet on August 17, 2012 and was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 6, 2012.  The legislation focuses on protection of vendors from harassment by police and civic authorities, representation of women and vendors in the decision making bodies, demarcation of vending zones and establishment of a dispute resolution mechanism with an effective grievance redressal.According to the bill, anyone who has been a vendor for 14 years or more can register themselves as  street vendors with the Town Vending Committee (TVC) and pay a one-time fee which would allow them to operate in ‘specific vending zones’. Identification cards would also be issued for this purpose.

Responses to Proposed Street Vendor Bill

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

T.NAGAR

Ranganathan Street is located in Theagaraya Nagar on the approach to the Mambalam railway station, Many commercial establishments can be found on Ranganathan Street. It is one of the busiest streets of Chennai. The street is a famous icon of Theagaraya Nagar and due to its proximity to the Mambalam railway station and the Theagaraya Nagar bus terminus, people from all parts of Chennai flock to Ranganathan Street for shopping, especially during the festive seasons. The place is very crowded at all times during the year.Some of the well-known outlets on Ranganathan Street include Textile Stores. Every kind of household articles, music CDs, apparel and accessories can be obtained at the many stores that line the street. Vegetable and flower vendors sell their fresh wares right on the street.

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

Provisions 1. It will do away with the existing license system that is misused to harass vendors 2. Anyone over 18 years can apply and register as street vendor on payment of one-time fee. 3. Once registered, they will be given identity cards entitling them to sell their wares in specified vending zones. 4. It mandates municipalities to set up restriction free vending zones/ night bazaars where hawkers can sell their ware, through vending committees. 5. It sets regulations for hawking activities in public spaces such as pavements, parks, and thoroughfares. 6. The proposed law also has clear provisions for protecting and promoting weekly and natural markets, besides grievance redressal mechanisms and transparency provisions. Source:MHUPA

Role of TVCs1. Each street vendor will be registered under the supervision of a Town Vending Committee (TVC)2. This will be headed by the respective municipal commissioner3. Each vendor will be given an identity card with a code number and category.4. TVCs are responsible for registration and record-making and the modalities of eviction5. TVCs would form city-specific zoning laws on the basis of consensus among stakeholders. In demarcating vending zones, the TVCs will maintain a proper balance between usable space and the number of vendors without compromising the issues of traffic, public health, and environment.6. This would be achieved through three zonal categories: No-Vending Zones, Restriction-free Vending Zones, and Restricted Vending Zones

What policy interventions could be made?

INTRODUCTION PROFILE OF STREET VENDORS STUDY AREAMARINA BEACH

T.NAGARMARINA BEACH INFORMAL SHOPS CASE STUDY STREET VENDOR BILL

T.NAGAR RANGANATHAN STREET ROLE OF GOVERNMENTCONCLUSION

1) Street vendors contribute directly to the overall level of economic activity, and to the provision of goods and services; 2) Citizens have constitutional rights to choose their occupations and to engage in entrepreneurial activities; 3) Street vending is an actual or potential source of government tax revenues; 4) Street vending serves as a social safety-net; 5) Street vending is a laboratory for entrepreneurship, family business and social interaction; 6) Street vending provides entrepreneurial opportunities to people who cannot afford to buy or rent fixed premises; 7) Street vendors greatly expand the range of places and times where goods and services can be provided, and sometimes they also offer goods and services which are not available in off-street locations; 8) Street vendors bring life to dull streets;

1) Street vendors are not evenly spread across the city.

2) Street vending reduces the number of routes available to motor vehicles, it impedes door-to-door deliveries and collections, and it may create access problems for emergency vehicles;

3) Street vendors may block the routes of egress from crowded buildings like theaters, stadiums and department stores, increasing the scale of the tragedy in the event of a major fire, explosion, toxic gas escape or mass hysteria;

4) Street vendors can and often do “forestall” off-street businesses, attracting potential purchasers as they walk into a concentration of on- and off-street business activity;

5) Street vendors often fail to give receipts and keep accounts, to pay taxes on their earnings, and to charge sales or value added taxes to their customers;

arguments in support of street vending arguments commonly used against street vending

CONCLUSION

SOURCE: Contextualising Urban Livelihoods: Street Vending in India - Abhayraj Naik*

http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Unorganised%20Sector/bill150_20071123150_Condition_of_workers_sep_2007.pdf

http://www.nias.res.in/docs/urpp/NIAS-URPP-Workshop-on-Urban-Street-Vendors-Policy-Final-Report.pdf

http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=18795 http://

www.livemint.com/Leisure/NN6NKSWlU0wsojynMwFBBJ/Street-Vendors–The-god-of-small-sellers.html

REFERENCE To hawk or not to hawk!-Venkat Sandeep Bandla (Asian College of Journalism) CHAPTER 4-CASE STUDIES OF SELECTED STREETS IN CHENNAI Contextualising Urban Livelihoods: Street Vending in India - Abhayraj Naik* http://tnlabour.in/?p=1266