ABSTRACT
Street vending is an important activity related to informal sector in urban areas. Street vending provides job opportunity and means of livelihood to the urban poor but Urban Local Bodies consider it as illegal activity [1]. A street vendor is a person who offers goods or services for sale to the public without having a permanent built up structure but with a temporary static structure or mobile stall. Street vendors may be stationary, peripatetic and mobile vendors. The vending takes place in popular public locations such as parks and beaches besides schools and colleges, where a natural market exists for them. Hence, if these places are allotted to the vendors along with proper regulations in the form of space demarcations and so forth, the vending will not become a serious problem. In the case studies considered for the study, the issues identified are same and the reason for the issues are mainly lack of implementation of Acts and policies, lack of effective planning process and improper working of government and local authorities. National Policy on Urban Street Vendor-2004 and 2009, Model Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill-2009 are some of the initiatives taken by the Government and recently, The Street Vendors (Protection of livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act-2014 [33]. Other agencies like NASVI and SEWA have played major role to push vendors issue and formulation of policies in favor of street vendors. This paper discusses the process of vending & vendors-types & techniques, issues, problems and benefits of street vendors, characteristics and their legal frame work for street vendors in India.
