New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is aiming to conduct elections for town vending committees (TVC) by July, a key step towards creating designated vending zones across the city.Officials said the civic body has completed the re-survey of pending street vendors in its jurisdiction and is in the process of issuing certificates of vending (CoV). In Phase I, 62,333 certificates were issued till Dec 31, 2021. However, as not all vendors were covered, Delhi govt directed a re-survey. In the second phase, around 22,000 additional vendors have been identified.“We expect to conduct the elections within four months. The town vending committees will identify vending zones, regulate street vendors, assign legal vending spaces, and balance vendors’ rights with pedestrian movement and public safety,” an official said.According to MCD, around 27 committees will be formed across the city. Each committee will have 12 vendor representatives, while the remaining members will include experts, representatives of RWAs, market associations and voluntary organisations.Only vendors holding valid CoVs will be eligible to vote in the elections, for which MCD will prepare voter lists. The civic body has 250 wards across 12 zones, and as per norms, at least one committee is to be formed for every eight wards in each zone.The committees will also have the authority to relocate vendors from congestion-prone areas, create designated vending and no-vending zones, and address issues such as traffic disruption.However, sources pointed out gaps in the survey process.Arbind Singh of National Association of Street Vendors of India said there are instances where TVC members did not participate in the survey for various reasons. “Such as in Pitampura, TVC members were demanding honorarium for participating in meetings and survey processes, but their demand did not materialise, so they did not participate…. At places, the vendors are still not aware of this process.”
