The Handbook is prepared as a guideline document to simplify the Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street vending Act, 2014; Kerala Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street vending Rules, 2018 and Kerala Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street vending Scheme, 2019. The Handbook helps in the smoother implementation of the laws and preparation of the bye law on Street vending. It is prepared in a question -answer format for easy understanding of the law. It is divided into two sections where each question has two components. The first section “What Law Says” gives a comprehensive understanding about the Street vending law and rules of both the Centre and Kerala government.
The second section titled “CPPR Comment” comments on each provision of the law including the gaps that can lead to difficulties in implementing the law. The Comment part of the handbook comes from rigorous field study and policy research while working for both the Alappuzha Municipality and the Kochi corporation.
Street Vending is one of the manifestations of retail business found around cities in the world and is one of the most visible forms of urban poverty alleviation. Vending requires a minimum amount of investment as they pay rent for the space occupied, creating self-employment opportunities for the urban poor. Historically, vending has been a very accessible service catering to the urban demand for goods and services, due to its visible nature in the streets. India is one of the countries where street vending is highly depended on by the urban population when it comes to a range of services including goods, clothing.
As per the recent statistics by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [MoHUA] , the different state governments have identified 18,25,776 vendors in India, while independent studies cite a higher number of vendors. Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat are the states with the most significant proportion of vendors. 1 According to government estimation, street vending accounts for 14 percent of the country's total (non-agricultural) urban informal employment. 2 A study by ORF states that there is ambiguity in the number of street vendors in India and suggests at least 10 million people engaged in the sector as an approximate figure.
(Jha n.d.) 3 It is thus a commercial urban activity that serves the needs of livelihood of many urban poor as well as a source of municipal revenue, if regulated and implemented properly. Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) (3, 8 and11) and the New Urban Agenda show deep commitment to protect and include street vendors while envisioning public spaces by all (Deore and Lathia 2019). 4
The increasing urbanisation saw a simultaneous increase in the number of street vendors. As the city spaces started shrinking with pedestrians, parking of vehicles and vendors, vendors were considered intruders of the public space. Often they faced harassment in the form of evictions or giving bribes to the local authorities as well as the traffic and police officials. There were campaigns throughout the country to decriminalise vendors' presence on streets and identify their right to livelihood.
Given the growing legal and social obstacles for street vendors in India, the Protection of Street Vendors Act 2014, is a result of years of debate and influence from the street vendors unions, activists and lawyers.
Managing conflicting rights and claims of different stakeholders and users of roads like street vendors, shopkeepers, vehicles, pedestrians and local authorities is the key to designing and implementing the street vending plan in any city. Street vending is a multi dimensional business method where several varieties of items may be sold and the customers are diverse. Hence, it needs to be made region specific, based on the footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics of the city, a uniform street vending plan for cities is not practical. It needs to be made region specific, based on the city's footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics. It needs to be made region specific, based on the footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics of the city, a uniform street vending plan for cities is not practical. It needs to be made region specific, based on the city's footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics. It needs to be made region specific, based on the footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics of the city, a uniform street vending plan for cities is not practical. It needs to be made region specific, based on the city's footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics. It needs to be made region specific, based on the footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics of the city, a uniform street vending plan for cities is not practical. It needs to be made region specific, based on the city's footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics. It needs to be made region specific, based on the footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics of the city, a uniform street vending plan for cities is not practical. It needs to be made region specific, based on the city's footfall, traffic movement and geographical characteristics.
1 - “Approved Outlay for PM Svanidhi Scheme Is Rs.600 Crore.” n.d. pib.gov.in. Accessed October 29, 2022. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1657802.
2 - “Explained: Who Is a ‘Street Vendor’ in India? What Is the Street Vendors Act?” 2020. The Indian Express. November 6, 2020. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/street-vendor-act-pm-svanidhi-scheme-explained-6911120/.
3 - Jha, Ramanath. n.d. “Strengthening Urban India’s Informal Economy: The Case of Street Vending.” ORF. Accessed December 20, 2022. https://www.orfonline.org/research/strengthening-urban-indias-informal-economy-the-case-of-street-vending/#_edn10.
4 - Deore, Prithvi, and Saumya Lathia. 2019. “Streets as Public Spaces: Lessons from Street Vending in Ahmedabad, India.” Urban Planning 4 (2): 138. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v4i2.2058.
