Distribution of 56 kiosks marks first phase of roadside vendors' rehabilitation
The Kochi Corporation has initiated the rehabilitation of roadside vendors, starting with the distribution of kiosks to 56 vendors in Fort Kochi as part of the first phase on Tuesday (June 10).
The move was in keeping with the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. Cochin Smart Mission Limited designed and built the kiosks.
In the next phase, roadside vendors will be moved into dedicated vending zones. No vendor will be allowed space beyond 25 sq ft. Vending hindering the movement of pedestrians will not be allowed, nor will they be permitted to expand the vending space by drawing overhead sheets, said Mayor M. Anilkumar.
An effective rehabilitation plan will be drawn up. Even smaller kiosks are being prepared at select locations. Vendors will be responsible for the treatment of waste that their units generate. Encroachment on roads will not be allowed. The Corporation Council has taken all necessary measures for a more beautiful Kochi.
The Act, among other things, has provisions for issuing identity cards to vendors, their registration, and the identification of vending zones. The town vending committee played a critical role in the rehabilitation of roadside vendors. The Corporation has identified 2,351 vendors through a survey conducted with the help of various agencies. So far, 69 vending zones have been recognised.
Nine representatives have been elected from among the recognised roadside vendors. Mr. Anilkumar hailed the cooperation extended by various trade unions to the endeavour.
According to the Act, municipal corporations are required to draw up separate vending by-laws. Councillors P.S. Viju, Priya Prashanth, Antony Kureethara, and V.K. Minimol were entrusted with preparing the by-law. The draft by-law was approved by the vending committee and the Corporation Council and submitted to the State government, which approved it on October 9, 2023. The government approved the vending plan on June 27, 2024.
Mr. Anilkumar said the Corporation was the first civic body in the State to prepare a vending by-law and vending plan and identify separate vending zones. 'The by-law prepared by us now serves as a guide for other corporations,' he said in his inaugural address after distributing the vending kiosks. Deputy Mayor K.A. Ansiya presided over.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
X complies with takedowns globally but seeks special treatment in India: Govt
X (formerly Twitter) complies with takedown laws globally but seeks special treatment in India, the Union government told the Karnataka high court on Tuesday while opposing the social media giant's petition against joining the Sahyog portal for automated notices. The Karnataka high court will hear the matter next on July 8. (Shutterstock) Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, said X must join the platform and comply with all takedown notices issued by designated authorities. 'In every other country, they follow the law. Only in India, they expect these luxuries,' Mehta said. X has challenged the government's direction, asking it to join the portal, arguing that Sahyog opens the door for 'indiscriminate censorship.' Senior advocate KG Raghavan, who appeared for the company, cited the case of the Indian Railways asking X to remove a viral video of a woman driving on railway tracks in Telangana. Raghavan questioned how such content was unlawful. He claimed 'every Tom, Dick, and Harry' could issue takedown notices under Sahyog. Mehta objected to Raghavan's choice of words and said the officers sending such notices were the competent authority, and the government would not tolerate anyone calling them names. Justice M Nagaprasanna, hearing the matter, said the senior counsel must exercise restraint for these were officers of the 'government of India' and had 'statutory powers.' The government reiterated that X has no legal right to challenge takedown orders. It previously told the court in an affidavit that social media intermediaries did not have the locus to fight for their users in court. The government also cautioned that if X resisted, it might lose safe harbour. Under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, platforms like X are protected from liability for user content, provided they comply with takedown requests within 36 hours of receiving official notice. X has argued that this provision has been misused to create a parallel blocking mechanism that violates the Supreme Court's judgment in the case of Shreya Singhal vs Union of India, which provides for orders for content removal only under a defined process established under the IT Act. The high court will hear the matter next on July 8.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Government developing 'cooperative stack' to integrate all rural schemes through PACS: Cooperation Secretary
The government is developing a 'cooperative stack' by integrating schemes through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), aiming to create a unified system for dispensing benefits in rural areas. This initiative seeks to transform the rural institutional landscape, leveraging PACS as the primary vehicle for delivering government benefits. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The government is developing a comprehensive ' cooperative stack ' by integrating various schemes through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to create a unified system for dispensing benefits in rural areas, a top cooperation ministry official said on cooperative stack initiative aims to transform the rural institutional landscape by leveraging PACS as the primary vehicle for delivering government benefits, marking a significant shift from the current fragmented approach, where different schemes operate through separate channels."The ecosystem (of PACS) has been changed. (We have) reinvented the was necessary to remove opacity and lack of transparency in PACS. We worked on that," Cooperation Secretary Ashish Bhutani said, highlighting the government's efforts to bring transparency to village-level credit while addressing a workshop on emerging technologies in PACS, also said the digitisation of PACS through online systems has already begun transforming operations, with many societies now operating through digital platforms to enhance efficiency and are now about 1.08 lakh PACS having 13 crore members across the country. Of which, around 63,000 PACS are in the advanced stage of computerisation, he cooperative credit societies are the oldest institutions that were set up in the 1900s. In the course of time, Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and Regional Cooperative Banks (RCBs) were computerised, but not the transparency and technology adoption, the regulator Reserve Bank was not allowing them to undertake more activities. After the cooperation ministry was formed on July 6, 2021, the focus was on computerising and strengthening the PACS. The government is targeting to computerise 80,000 PACS, he more PACS getting computerised, the government has started a comprehensive initiative to integrate all schemes with PACS, which are institutions backed by legislation, rather than continuing to create multiple separate systems for different rural interventions."PACS are backed by an Act. Why not strengthen the existing PACS than keep on adding a new system every day? There is no point creating silo institutions in individual areas," the official explained, emphasising the need for institutional consolidation within the cooperative stack."The intent now is to migrate to a cooperative stack, similar to agristack initiated by the agriculture ministry," he said, adding that the idea is to create a unified system for dispensing benefits of government schemes in rural other rural clusters like Self-Help Groups have emerged over time, these operate under circulars and notifications rather than formal legislative backing, making PACS a more robust and legally sound foundation for the comprehensive cooperative stack being official noted that Self-Help Groups came into existence primarily because PACS were not functioning adequately in certain inter-ministerial committee of secretaries is actively working on establishing a single centre for dispensing all government scheme benefits in rural areas instead of the current system of multiple institutions handling different have been identified as uniquely positioned to serve as the backbone of this cooperative stack, given their widespread presence across rural India and their legal backing through cooperative official emphasised that technology adoption is crucial for seamlessly linking all schemes through the cooperative stack, with digital integration being the key to successful implementation."The technology is the way forward to link all schemes seamlessly through PACS. It's all the more reason to ensure PACS embrace technologies as soon as possible," Bhutani technology integration within the cooperative stack includes AI-driven solutions such as automated weather advisories that can help farmers make informed decisions about crop management and agricultural practices.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Ray Dalio calls for Democrats and Republicans to ‘chip in a bit' to address the US ‘debt bomb'. Here's what he said…
Markets expert and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio believes the United States needs bipartisan support for tax policies and spending cuts in order to address the country's mounting debt issue. In a lengthy post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Dalio expressed that there is no way that the US 'deficit/debt bomb' problem can be sustainably dealt with unless there is a bipartisan mix of tax revenue increases and spending decreases. Here's what he wrote: ''I promise to not raise your taxes' and 'I promise to not cut your benefits' are the two popular political promises that are inconsistent with the much more needed promise 'I promise to cut the budget deficit to about 3 percent of GDP' that is required to prevent a big debt/dollar crisis.' 'There is no way that the deficit/debt bomb problem can be sustainably dealt with unless there is a mix of tax revenue increases and spending decreases that are determined in a bipartisan way. Our representatives in Washington, DC, both Republicans and Democrats, know this is true. They understand the need to reduce the deficit by having those from both sides chip in a bit (e.g., a 4 percent increase in tax revenue and a 4 percent spending cut) which would lead to a supply/demand balance improvement for US debt which in turn would lower interest rates,' he added. 'Lower interest rates would help reduce the budget deficit as well as help the markets and the economy. But because politics have become so absolutist, they feel they can't go down this obviously best path because both their constituents and their parties will throw them out of office if they explored this more balanced approach. To me, that's a tragedy,' he ended. Dalio's comments come as the US Senate debates its version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Act. After a series of amendments it will be put to vote soon. Notably, if passed would add nearly $3.3 trillion to US deficits over a decade, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. (With inputs from Agencies)
