Vending zones in different parts of the city. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 10: Members of the All Orissa Roadside Vendors’ Association (AORVA) have threatened an agitation in the capital if the state government does not address their list of demands, which includes provisions for vending zones for all vendors, construction of at least three vending zones in each ward of the city, issuing of identity cards and rehabilitation of the evicted vendors.

The vendors, while attending a state-level meeting here today, alleged that though the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) had once become a role model in vending zone management and implementing the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors, has now failed to provide space to its existing 22,000 vendors.

“Till date, only 2,500 vendors have been rehabilitated, of which only 375 have got their identity cards. The BMC had initially planned to provide all the vendors with identity cards, but it never happened. We also want the general administration department to collect the ground rate for allotting the land from each vendor along with the collection of trade license fee by the BMC. But the proposal was never accepted,’’ said AORVA president Pratap Kumar Sahu.

The AORVA president informed that the national policy had declared that no hawker or street vendor be arbitrarily evicted in the name of beautification of cityscape and the state governments should ensure institutional arrangement, legislative framework and other necessary actions with the national policy.

“The BMC has come up with an idea of ward markets, but these structures will be occupied by middlemen, not the vendors,’’ Sahu said.

AORVA convenor Amiya Pandav said: “The civic body should form a town vending committee and should properly mark vending zones at the tourist spots. There are around 27,000 vendors in Cuttack, 15,000 in Puri, 17,000 in Berhampur and 11,000 in Rourkela, while there are 4 lakh street vendors in the state according to a survey conducted by the association.’’

The AORVA members also alleged that the BMC staff or contractors never carry out the solid waste management work in the vending zones, and that the vendors have to make their own provisions.

“Already the prime minister and the Union minister of housing and urban poverty alleviation had asked the state government to include the street vendors in the city planning process and address the requirements of space for street vending as an important urban activity,’’ they informed citing official letters.

Contacted, senior BMC officials admitted that many vending zones had come up in some planning areas causing their eviction. They also informed that by principle, no vending area is a permanent structure within the city limits.

“The coordination between the general administration department, the BMC, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, the roads and buildings department and the city police is therefore needed to end the confusions regarding the vending issues,’’ they said.

BMC commissioner Vishal Kumar Dev said that only the state government has rights to take decisions on this issue. But he said that till date, there is no policy of the state government on the rehabilitation and development of the street vendors. “Only a draft slum rehabilitation and development policy is under consideration of the state government,’’ he added.