In a significant development against the illegal hawking, the Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday, November 12 took suo motu cognisance of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) and Mumbai police’s failure in controlling the “menace” across the city.
They failed to control the situation despite HC’s order dated October 23, when it directed that the region starting from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the court be kept “completely unauthorised hawker-free” till November 12.
A division bench comprising justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said that the entire Mumbai City is covered with illegal hawkers. These hawkers spare no road, no lane, no space. Despite police officials monitoring the entire area, these hawkers can still be seen selling their goods. The HC stressed that there is a need to curb illegal hawking across the whole Mumbai and not just over the 20 areas identified by the BMC.
The HC Judges who were hearing the public interest litigation against the illegal hawkers stressed more over the ineffectuality of the existing enforcement measures and actions being taken against these peddlers. The HC urged the civic body and police to synchronise their actions in a way that we get good results and there are no hawkers on the way. The court emphasised the necessity for a "quid pro quo" agreement and maintained that this was only one aspect of the solution when BMC officials said that they had seized carts, demolished unauthorised constructions, and placed officers at strategic sites like Horniman Circle to stop illicit hawking.
The state's attorney outlined actions done since 2016 to improve the consistency of hawker regulations. He claimed that because of the high volume of international visitors, places like the popular Colaba Causeway needed more attention. He pointed out that unauthorised hawking had increased small criminality in the neighbourhood, interfered with storefront accessibility, and disrupted pedestrian flow. The court then reminded the state that in order to safeguard both tourists and nearby companies, extra attention was required in areas with such high traffic.
The petitioner's lawyer suggested creating a temporary committee to carry out surveys and compile thorough information on both licensed and unlicensed vendors in response to the court's concern about unauthorised merchants resurfacing in crowded places shortly after enforcement officials depart. In order to protect lawful merchants from being penalised during the crackdown, the court also requested that the BMC create a system that would enable vendors with expired licences to reapply effectively.
The HC will be hearing the matter next on December 12. While adjourning the hearing on November 12 the court stated that without properly dedicated and unified action by the police department and the civic body, public safety issues and disruptions caused by illegal hawkers would continue.
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