Bhubaneswar, June 23: The municipal corporation has decided to provide shops to street vendors, who were earlier identified in a survey.

After introduction of the Odisha Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme in 2015, the municipal corporation had hired a private partner to undertake a survey and plan their relocation and rehabilitation. The survey, which ended recently, has found nearly 21,000 such vendors.

Sources in the municipal corporation said the survey was undertaken in all 67 wards of the city to identify vendors who run roadside eateries, vegetable, book, fish and meat shops. The identified vendors will be rehabilitated in the existing or upcoming vending zones, as well as specially designed shops, they added.

"The identified street vendors have been provided with certificates. If they want to continue vending, they will have to apply before the town vending committee of the civic body. The committee after a second round of verification will allot shops to the eligible vendors following the rules," said a senior civic body official.

According to the new regulation, the street vendors will be provided with separate certificates and identity cards for vending. After paying the requisite fees, they will be allowed to vend in the city. Moreover, the corporation will maintain a central registry to record and trace information about the vendors.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the move to organise and relocate the street vendors would give a new look to the city.

"The aim is to bring all street vendors into the fold. The new scheme will not only prove beneficial for the vendors, but also for the city. Vending at random places will disappear," said Jena.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, along with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority, had evicted more than 2,000 vendors from various areas of the city over the years. Officials claimed that all the evicted vendors have been rehabilitated in the 43 vending zones of the municipal corporation across the city.

"It is a good move by the civic body to relocate us. We support the initiative, but the civic body should ensure proper relocation. If I am vending at Kharavela Nagar, I should be provided an alternative shop there only and not anywhere else. This should be ensured by the civic body," said Barun Yadav, a panipuri shop owner here.