Chandigarh: Amid protests by street vendors, the municipal corporation Saturday conducted a draw of lots to allot vending sites to vendors shifted from the Essential Service Provider (ESP) category to the non-ESP category following a Supreme Court ruling.A section of vendors alleged that the sites allotted to them were not viable for business and were located far from the places where they had been operating for years. They claimed the relocation would adversely affect their livelihood.The MC allotted 498 vacant vending sites to 498 eligible street vendors through a draw of lots conducted in the presence of joint municipal commissioner Himanshu Gupta, town vending committee (TVC) members and officials of the vendor cell.According to the civic body, the allotment was carried out strictly in accordance with the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the Chandigarh Street Vendors Rules and Scheme, and directions of the Supreme Court.MC officials said the exercise was necessitated after more than 600 vendors were shifted from the ESP category to the non-ESP category. Out of 668 such vendors identified by the corporation, 276 have been sent back to the non-ESP sites earlier allotted to them before the July 2020 notification. The remaining 498 vendors were allotted fresh sites through Saturday’s draw.The corporation said the move would provide eligible vendors with secure and designated vending spaces while ensuring systematic and regulated vending across the city. It added that the exercise would help improve urban management, curb unauthorised vending and promote a cleaner and more organised public environment.Meanwhile, protesting vendors maintained that many of the allotted sites were not commercially feasible and feared that relocation could severely impact their earnings and livelihood.
