Thiruvananthapuram corporation proposes 122 new vending zones to regulate street vendors
Town vending committee
prepared the draft proposal aiming to bring order to street vending activities that have mushroomed, especially after Covid pandemic.
The proposed plan divides the city into vending, non-vending and partial vending zones. Some stretches, such as Kowdiar-Vellayambalam road and Vellayambalam-Thycaud Smart Road, will be declared non-vending zones and excluded from the project. This initiative comes more than a decade after the enactment of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Corporation secretary Jahamgeer S told TOI that the town vending committee recently finalised the draft. "Once the technical committee approves the draft, the proposal will be presented at the council meeting. During council discussions, councillors can also give their feedback. After incorporating all suggestions, a notification will be issued, giving 30 days for further input before moving to the implementation phase," he said. The technical committee includes stakeholders such as police, PWD, KRFB (Kerala Road Fund Board) and TRDCL (Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Co Ltd), and their recommendations will mainly concern the areas to be covered under the vending project, Jahamgeer added.
Following the pandemic, there was a surge in the number of vendors, prompting efforts to formalise and support this growing sector. Surveys conducted by the corporation identified around 2,500 street vendors operating in the city. Besides designating vending zones, corporation has supported vendors by facilitating loans under Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi.
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Officials said that an increase in unregulated vending contributed to traffic congestion and waste management issues. The new plan is aimed at addressing these challenges by offering structured spaces for vendors without disrupting urban mobility or sanitation. Evicting vendors is not a practical or lawful solution, said a town vending committee official. "We cannot remove vendors overnight, especially from popular areas like Cotton Hill Road at Vazhuthacaud and Kesavadasapuram-Paruthipara stretch, where food streets have organically come up," he said. "People are enjoying these spaces. We are aiming for an organised system that benefits both vendors and corporation," he added.
The new proposal is seen as an expanded version of the model vending zones operating along RKV Road near Museum police station. Corporation intends to replicate and scale up this model in the city, said the official. However, authorities acknowledge limitations in enforcing strict measures against vendors due to protections under the 2014 Act. In the past, initiatives to regulate vending zones faced hurdles, with some projects slowing down due to restrictions by city police. Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd was also involved in setting up vending zones along RKV Road and the ongoing work at Shanghumugham.
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