The Meghalaya Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors’ Association (MGSPHSVA) staged a sit-in protest outside the Shillong Municipal Board office on Friday, opposing the recent notification stating that hawkers in the Khyndailad area would be relocated by February 7. Angela Rangad, a member of MGSPHSVA, voiced concerns about the legality and transparency of the process, emphasizing that the issue must be governed by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Rangad highlighted the absence of a formal Town Vending Committee (TVC) in Meghalaya, as mandated by the law. Instead, a provisional TVC was notified in November 2022 with specific terms of reference: conducting surveys, handling claims and objections, issuing vending licenses, and collaboratively identifying vending zones. Despite this, the committee’s progress has been inadequate.
In December 2022, the provisional TVC initiated a survey, which the MGSPHSVA supported by demanding a digital survey to ensure transparency. The proposed digital process would have allowed hawkers to access their survey status via SMS, WhatsApp, or a dedicated website. However, the survey failed due to technical and administrative shortcomings. Rangad criticized the government for ignoring the association’s offer to provide a tried-and-tested digital survey platform, used successfully in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, at no cost. Instead, the government chose to spend public funds on an ineffective solution.
Rangad condemned the government’s decision to relocate hawkers without completing essential steps such as conducting a comprehensive survey, addressing claims and objections, and issuing vending certificates. She questioned the unilateral identification of relocation sites, including the MUDA parking lot in Police Bazar and areas near the State Bank, without consulting hawkers or the provisional TVC. Furthermore, Rangad raised concerns about the allocation of ₹6 crores for constructing stalls, questioning the lack of transparency in the decision-making process and awarding of contracts.
“This notification from a non-existent Town Vending Committee is illegal,” Rangad stated. “A proper TVC requires elections with 40% representation from hawkers, which hasn’t been conducted. The government’s hasty actions undermine the rights of hawkers, who have fought for nine years to have their livelihoods protected under the law.”
Rangad urged the government to reconvene the provisional TVC and restart the process. She emphasized the need for a fair and collaborative approach, including rechecking survey data, ensuring the digital survey platform functions effectively, issuing vending certificates, and jointly identifying vending spaces with hawkers.
“The hawkers will not allow a haphazard implementation that disregards due process. The government must rethink its approach to avoid creating more problems,” Rangad concluded.