Crackdown on Mumbai hawkers ‘indiscriminate’: Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Nirupam

Mumbai: Days after the Bombay high court mandated a strict cap on eligible hawkers and pushed for the long-pending town vending committees (TVCs) to be constituted and made functional, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam on Thursday alleged that the crackdown on street vendors in Mumbai was indiscriminate and disproportionately affecting legitimate hawkers.Nirupam said under the guise of action against "Bangladeshi" hawkers, civic authorities were targeting licensed and eligible vendors who are entitled to protection under the Street Vendors Act. "Instead of identifying who is authorised and who is not, the BMC has resorted to blanket evictions," he said, adding that such actions undermine both due process and the high court's directions. He pointed to recent drives in areas such as Mulund, Chembur, Dadar and Crawford Market (Dawa Bazaar), where vendors claim they were removed without prior verification of their status.According to Nirupam, the civic body has failed to complete the crucial exercise of identifying eligible hawkers—something the court has repeatedly emphasised as a prerequisite to any enforcement action. He didn't clearly comment on the Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde who has been leading the action against illegal hawkers."Similar to her agenda even we want illegal or Bangladeshi hawkers out of the city but then this can't come in a manner than legal hawkers are being impacted in the name of Bangladeshis illegally residing in the city. Also in the last few months who are the Bangladeshi hawkers that have been picked up as yet ? If the number is zero is points that action isn't being taken in the right direction," he said.