Explain vendors’ presence in no-hawking zone: HC

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday asked Delhi Police and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to explain why vending and hawking activities were still being allowed, despite a ban in the Chandni Chowk area, which is undergoing redevelopment.
The court issued notice and asked the cops and the civic body to respond to a plea filed by Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal seeking direction against a survey being conducted by the Town Vending Committee (TVC) in the no-hawking/no-squatting areas in Chandni Chowk, Subhash Marg and other prohibited areas of the Sadar Paharganj zone.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also directed that while conducting the survey, the TVC shall make a distinction and take note of hawkers who are occupying spaces in no-hawking or no-vending zones.
“You continue with the survey but take into account the objections raised by the petitioners. Your survey should clearly say that these are the street vendors who are sitting in hawking zone and these are the ones who are in the no-hawking or no vending zone,” the HC bench stated.
It asked the authorities to file their replies to the plea and listed the matter for November 10. The high court also asked the north corporation to place on record the scheme relating to no-hawking and no-squatting areas.
The traders association had submitted that despite the high court repeatedly ordering that in no hawking zones, there shall not be any encroachment, hawkers and vendors were present with the TVC also conducting a survey.
The association claimed that as far as installation of 330 CCTV cameras in the entire area was concerned, despite the high court’s direction, not even a single CCTV camera had been installed till date.