The civic authorities, which went ahead and laid the foundation of a so-called "vending zone" near Albert Chowk in the heart of the capital on Wednesday, did a volte-face on Thursday to claim that the project actually related to footpath, drain and railing and blamed the "confusion" on an error on the plaque after a section of shopkeepers raised a furore over protocol breach.
The controversy reared its head on Wednesday after deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya unveiled the plaque, which read "Near Albert Ekka Chowk in ward No. 19 foundation stone for footpath and vending zone", in the presence of local councillor Asha Devi.
But the words "vending zone" soon raised the hackles of a section of vendors owing allegiance to Ranchi Footpath Dukandar Sangh. According to them, it was wrong for the civic body to demarcate any place as vending zone without the approval of the town vending committee.
"It is only the 17-member town vending committee, headed by municipal commissioner, which can take decisions on demarcating vending zones. As the committee is yet to take a call on demarcating Albert Ekka as a vending zone, the deputy mayor did wrong by laying the foundation. Another point is that vending zones cannot be developed till the digital survey of vendors is completed," general secretary of Ranchi Footpath Dukandar Sangh and a member of town vending committee, Anita Das, told The Telegraph.
The logic, however, did not go down well with another section of pavement vendors, who welcomed the Ranchi Municipal Corporation's (RMC) move.
Founder and president of Jharkhand Sikhshit Berozgar Footpath Dookandar Mahasangh Kaushal Kishor said that Albert Ekka had always been an ideal place for vendors and the space beside the boundary wall of sadar hospital could accommodate several of them.
"The deputy mayor did nothing wrong by laying a foundation stone for the vending zone at that place," Kishor said.
The civic authorities, however, were singing a different tune a day after the foundation event.
Contacted on Thursday, Vijayvargiya said there was an error in the inscription on the plaque and the words "drain, railing" ought to have been in place of "vending zone". "There was an error in the writing. The words vending zone were erroneously inscribed, it ought to have been 'footpath and drain, railing'. But it triggered a huge controversy and the moment I realised it, I passed an order to change it. By late night, the words had been changed" he said.
Municipal commissioner Prashant Kumar expressed his ignorance about the goings-on, saying that he was "not in the city yesterday (Thursday)".
Vending zones have always been a matter of concern for Ranchi. Three years ago, as many as 12 such areas had been identified. The sites were Jaipal Singh Stadium, Survey Maidan, Argora Chowk, Bariatu, Khadgarha, Madhukam, behind Morabadi grounds, Doranda Bazar, Karbala Chowk, Hatia station, Purulia Road and the lane near Shastri Market.
But except Madhukam and Jaipal Singh Stadium, none of the other places has room for vendors at present. Thus, the vending zone project remained on paper. The Supreme Court, in an order in September 2013, had also spoke about vending zones in cities, but nothing has moved in this direction so far.
Asked about the same, town vending committee member Das said: "A digital survey of vendors is a must before demarcation and development of vending zones. This is because once a vending zone is demarcated, a fight will start for space, leading to law and order issues. For this, sound knowledge is required in advance about the spots that are ideal to be allocated to vendors."
Prodded about the digital survey, municipal commissioner Kumar said that an agency was being selected for the work at the state level.
