STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The unchecked rise in street vendors across Guwahati has turned several major roads into chaotic, overcrowded markets, highlighting the Guwahati Municipal Corporation's (GMC) failure to enforce the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Despite repeated assurances, the GMC has yet to bring order to the city's growing street vending crisis.
Beltola Road is one of the worst-affected areas, where vendors sell everything from meat and fish to vegetables, clogging the streets and making movement difficult for both pedestrians and vehicles. While the GMC recently announced the identification of 81 vending zones to regulate vendors, the move appears to lack proper planning, as the corporation has yet to conduct a comprehensive survey to determine the total number of vendors in the city.
Survey delays and poor execution According to the 2014 Act, GMC is required to carry out a survey of all street vendors, issue identity cards, and rehabilitate them in designated vending zones before taking any eviction action. However, a decade after the law was passed, GMC has yet to complete a proper survey. A GMC official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, admitted that the NGO responsible for conducting the survey lacked the necessary resources and expertise to carry out the work. "They do not even have a dedicated team in Guwahati. Vendors are increasing every day, and there is no structured plan to study their numbers and locations," the official revealed. Further complicating the situation, the NGO is reportedly not even receiving payments from GMC, delaying the survey's progress.
The last known vendor survey in Guwahati was conducted in April 2015, recording 7,182 vendors. However, despite this data, no vendors were allotted designated vending zones. In 2015, GMC had briefly declared the divider opposite Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) as a vending zone, but it was abruptly removed in 2016-violating the Street Vending Act, which states that vendors can only be evicted if they are provided an alternative space.
Eviction without alternatives In recent months, eviction drives have intensified across Guwahati, with street vendors being forcibly removed without being offered a viable alternative. Vendors in the Jalukbari area were recently evicted under the "no vending, no parking" rule, leaving them without a source of income. Despite repeated eviction efforts, vendors often return within hours, highlighting the ineffectiveness of GMC's strategy.
Meanwhile, a senior GMC official dismissed allegations of inaction, stating, "We do not levy charges on unauthorized vendors. The situation in Lachit Nagar is controlled by a local nexus." However, the continued presence of vendors and the lack of a structured plan suggest otherwise.
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