MUMBAI: Corporators cutting across party lines have expressed concern over the manner in which the BMC is carrying out its ongoing action against hawkers encroaching on footpaths, alleging that the drive is arbitrary and suffers from poor execution at the ward level. While corporators broadly backed the ‘Pedestrian First’ initiative, they questioned the way enforcement was being carried out, particularly against hawkers who have been issued QR-coded identity cards by the civic body.BJP corporator Sheetal Gambir said hawkers found occupying excessive space should be asked to reduce their encroachment rather than being repeatedly penalised. “If a hawker is found to be encroaching on the footpath, he should be asked to lessen the space and not be repeatedly penalised. These corporators are coming back to us asking for money to pay the fines too as they are left with no money,” she said.UBT Shiv Sena corporator Deepmala Bhade questioned the BMC’s decision to act against hawkers after issuing them QR-coded identity cards. “QR-coded ID cards were issued to hawkers in our presence and now the BMC is acting against these same hawkers. Then what was the point of distributing these cards?” she asked.BJP corporator Preeti Satam said civic agencies were themselves creating hurdles in implementing the Pedestrian First campaign. She pointed to the lack of JCB machines during enforcement action and said she was informed that the citywide JCB contract had ended on August 9. “In P South there is only one JCB. Where will it act?” she asked.BJP corporator Makrand Narwekar said there was a clear intent among the BMC’s senior leadership to make Mumbai more pedestrian-friendly, but alleged that the same urgency was missing among officials at the lower levels.Congress corporator Tulip Miranda questioned the purpose of QR-coded IDs if they offered no protection to hawkers. “Then why give the QR code itself? Mumbaikars who have been doing business for years are being harassed. We have made the provisions but execution is nil,” she said.The BMC, however, defended its approach, saying the action was not selective. Additional municipal commissioner Prajakta Lavangare Verma said wards had been directed to identify priority footpaths around schools, hospitals and metro stations and ensure pedestrian access.“We are not selectively acting against anyone in particular. We are uniformly cracking down against unauthorised hawkers only,” she said adding that BMC has also created a dashboard to monitor enforcement, with ward officials expected to update details of action taken.
