Gujarat High Court Permits Interim Relocation Of Bhadra Parisar Street Vendors To Nearby Plots To Ensure Livelihood During Diwali

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday (October 17) permitted the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to temporarily relocate registered street vendors operating in Bhadra Parisar area to two nearby plots in order to ensure that they are not deprived of their livelihood during Diwali festival.

Bhadra Parisar area constitutes of a Fort in the walled city in Ahmedabad and also comprises of Maa Bhadrakali Temple.

During the hearing, the Corporation submitted a proposal before a bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray to accommodate street vendors in two plots identified near Teen Darwaza. The Corporation had submitted that encroachment on the roads and footpaths coupled with an absolute vehicular lock-jam is making it impossible for fire, emergency and police vehicles to access key parts of the walled city, leading to a dangerous situation

AMC in its affidavit said that one plot which is around 100 – 1000 meters from Teen Darwaza admeasures approximately 1190 sq.mtrs. and it is rectangular vacant plot without any obstruction. The other plot measures approx 322 sq. meters and is about 80 – 100 meters from Teen Darwaza. Both these plots can be utilized at present, as an “interim arrangement” to accommodate registered vendors of NGO's Self Employed Workers Association (SEWA) and Self Employed Labour Organization (SELO).

AMC said that these two plots would be at further distance of about 100 metres from the Central Garden of Bhadra Parisar. The offer was accepted by the advocates for the petitioners NGOs as part of the temporary arrangement made by the Court, so that the street vendors registered with SEWA and SELO may not be deprived of their livelihood during Diwali.

The court in its order thus directed that as interim measure the "registered street vendors" of SEWA and SELO be provided space for their business in the following manner:

i. The bigger plot admeasuring 1190 sq.mtrs. be first utilized to accommodate the registered street vendors, as much as possible.
ii. For those registered vendors of two organizations, who could not be accommodated in the bigger plot, the smaller plot of approximately 322 sq.mtrs. is to be utilized.
iii. For the remaining of the registered street vendors of the two organizations, if any, the Central Garden of Bhadra Parisar shall be utilized as the last resort.

The petitioners gave an undertaking to co-operate with the Corporation on this arrangement. Their counsel said that the organizations have provided identity cards to each of the registered street vendors identified by them and there would be no encroachment by unauthorized person over the plots in question.

"Both the organizations are required to co-operate with the Corporation to give effect to this decision.It is further provided that no street vendor would be entitled to put up any kiosk or any table or cot etc. to sell their goods, either on the public street or on the pedestrian footpath in the Bhadra Parisar area till further orders of this Court. For any such eventuality, if any of the unauthorized person occupies public street or pedestrian footpath without the permission of this Court, the same shall be treated as “law and order situation” and shall be dealt with, accordingly," the court said.

The court said that the it would be duty of the district administration and the Corporation's officers to maintain the law and order situation during this exercise of relocation of street vendors, as an interim measure.

The court posted the matter on November 28.

The court passed the order in a pending 2014 PIL filed by the NGOs.

Case title: SELF EMPLOYED LABOUR ORGANISATION & ORS. v/s STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.

R/WRIT PETITION (PIL) NO. 211 of 2014 and R/WRIT PETITION (PIL) NO. 324 of 2014

Click Here To Read/Download Order