Mumbai: The BMC on Wednesday informed the Bombay high court that 83 out of the 250-odd hawkers of Colaba Causeway are licensed.
The HC division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata asked the hawkers’ union, who petitioned the court for enforcing their rights to hawk in Colaba, to inform by Monday if they wished to withdraw and join instead the larger issue pending before another bench in a suo motu PIL on de-cluttering the city’s pavements of hawkers. Otherwise, the bench said it would pass orders to the BMC to act against the unlicensed hawkers. However, the HC said it was keeping its order in abeyance next date, April 1.
The Colaba Causeway Tourism Hawkers Stall Union, through its President Mohammed Ismail, were the petitioners before the HC.
Through their lawyers Ankit Lohia, Zainab Shaikh and Rafiullah Shaikh, they contended that they have 253 members who have a right to hawk and sought enforcement of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act) 2014, a central law. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court restored the petition by hawkers of Colaba Causeway before the high court for effective implementation of the decade-old law meant to protect and regulate the livelihood of street vendors.
A Colaba residents’ group, called Clean Heritage Colaba Residential Association, through its President Subhash Motwani, filed an intervention plea seeking action against unlicensed hawkers and a verification of how many were authorised to hawk in the 1.5 km Colaba Causeway stretch. The residents, represented by lawyer Prerak Chaudhary, argued that the licensed hawkers were 79. The HC last week directed the BMC to verify the hawkers’ list. Through its advocate Komal Punjabi, the BMC on Thursday informed that it would be filing its affidavit before the registry and submitted the list of 83 licensed hawkers who hawked various wares like leather goods, toys, cutlery, readymade clothes, aerated water, dried fruits, cane articles, footwear, stationery, novelty items made of beads and shells.
Court-appointed amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the hawkers’ issue, Jamshed Mistry, was present. The HC is scheduled to hear the larger issues raised in a suo motu PIL of 2023 of street vendors blocking pavements on April 7.
