Chandigarh: The Municipal Corporation (MC), Chandigarh, has given eligible street vendors one month to take possession of the vending sites allotted to them through a recent draw of lots, warning that failure to do so will result in cancellation of licences and resumption of the sites by the civic body.The move comes amid objections from some vendors, who have claimed that the newly allotted locations are not commercially viable for their businesses. MC officials, however, maintained that the sites were identified after detailed ground surveys and joint inspections with the urban planning department of the Chandigarh administration, leaving little scope for changes.“We have issued official notices and informed all vendors allotted sites through the draw of lots to take possession within a month. If they fail to do so, the allotments will be cancelled. The sites were identified after physical surveys and consultations with stakeholders. Given Chandigarh’s limited land availability and planned development, vending sites cannot be earmarked arbitrarily,” MC officials said.The civic body recently conducted a draw of lots to allot vending sites to vendors shifted from the Essential Service Provider (ESP) category to the non-ESP category. Following a Supreme Court ruling, the MC was required to reclassify more than 600 vendors and allot them sites in designated vending zones.As part of the exercise, 498 vacant vending sites were allotted to as many eligible street vendors. Of these, 468 vendors were shifted to newly identified vending zones from locations where they had been conducting business for several years.According to MC records, 668 street vendors were reclassified from the ESP category to the non-ESP category. Of them, 276 vendors were sent back to the sites originally allotted to them before they were granted ESP status under a July 2020 notification. With the Supreme Court’s recent verdict restoring their non-ESP status, these vendors have now returned to their earlier vending locations.The remaining 498 vendors were allotted fresh vending sites through the draw of lots and have now been directed to take possession within the stipulated period or risk losing their allotments.
