Bombay HC Pulls Up State Govt, Mumbai Police over Encroachment by Hawkers: Report
Moneylife Digital Team 13 November 2024
While pulling up the Maharashtra government, Mumbai police and also the BrihanMumbai municipal corporation (BMC), the Bombay High Court (HC) observed that there is not a single lane in the entire Mumbai which is free from hawkers, says a report from LiveLaw.in
 
A division bench of justice Ajay Gadkari and justice Kamal Khata said the entire city is encroached by illegal hawkers, thereby making it difficult for the citizens to walk freely on the streets.
 
"Entire city is full of hawkers, not a single lane, no shop not a single shopping area is left. One child has even died. There entire city is encroached by these unauthorised hawkers," justice Khata remarked orally while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) and other bunch of petitions regarding the menace of unauthorised hawkers, the report says.
 
According to the report, the judge remarked after government pleader Purnima Kantharia submitted that the police personnel deployed on duty to take action against illegal hawkers cannot go and ask them if they have a licence.
 
Notably, the licensed hawkers are not to be evicted and the instant proceedings are only regarding the menace of illegal hawkers, who have no licence.
 
The judges, however, pulled up Ms Kantharia for her submission, stating that nothing stops the personnel from asking the licence of hawkers and act against those who do not have one.
 
"We are on removing them once and for all and they ought not to come back... There have to be beat marshals to remove them but if they continue to come back there is some problem on your part. We are of the opinion that all the government agencies - BMC and Mumbai Police, must act in tandem...When your officer goes to a particular place, he can ask about the licence if they don't have they can remove them," the judges observed. 
 
Meanwhile, senior counsel Mihir Desai, representing an association of hawkers also intervened in the proceedings, informing the bench that the issue of illegal hawking may come to an end once a town vending committee is elected and it identifies the 'eligible' hawkers. The submission was backed by other counsel representing various associations of hawkers.
 
The judges said it will deal with the detailed submissions of the hawkers' associations on 12 December 2024. Until then, the bench has ordered BMC and the Mumbai police to keep a strict and continuous vigil on the 20 sites, initially identified by the civic body, for taking action against illegal hawkers as a 'pilot project', the report says.
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