Govt mulling over law to save street vendors from harassment: Maken

New Delhi: Government is mulling over bringing a law to give livelihood rights and social security to vendors and hawkers in cities and towns which would enable them to carry on their business without any hindrance or harassment by the police or civic officials.

Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that support of urban street vendors has been proposed as a component under the proposed National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). "This component would aim at credit enablement, micro-enterprise development support and skilling of poor street vendors in urban areas of the country," Maken said. The government proposes to get "Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending ) Bill, 2012" passed soon, he added. The Bill was tabled in Lok Sabha on September 6, 2012 and has been referred to the Standing Committee Urban Development for examination. The Bill provides that no street vendor, who carries on street vending activities in accordance with the terms and conditions of his certificate of vending, shall be prevented from exercising such rights by any person or police or any other authority exercising powers under any other law for the time being in force. PTI