Kochi: Kerala High Court instructed the Kochi Corporation on Wednesday to implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, for the rehabilitation of street vendors within the corporation bounds. The High Court said that the street vendors without certificates from the Town Vending Committee should not be permitted to put out stalls within the limits of the Corporation.
‘Effective December 1st, 2021, only such street vendors as having obtained the certificates of vending from the Town Vending Committee of the Cochin Corporation shall be permitted to carry on street vending activities within the limits of Cochin Corporation. Street vendors operating within the limits of the Corporation without obtaining the prerequisite identity cards and certificates may apply to the Town Vending Committee for the same’, the Single Bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar ordered. The court added that such persons/applicants shall not be permitted to carry on street vending activities till such time, until they obtain the certificate of vending from the Town Vending Committee of the Cochin Corporation.
The counsel of Kochi Corporation informed the Court on its ruling that apart from the 876 street vendors that were initially found authorized, 927 additional applications for identity cards have been received. Out of this, 398 were recognized to be eligible, and the list of these has been forwarded to the Town vending Committee for approval. The counsel added that the issue of approval would most likely be taken up on a meeting slated on 19th November.
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The order was given as response to a petition filed by more than one person seeking the release of vehicles, merchandise/fruits and other connected articles held and taken into custody by the authorities and to abstain from taking any action in violation of the Street Vendors Act. The court suo motu charged the Ernakulam District Collector and the Kochi City Police Commissioner as additional respondents in the case. The matter was posted to December 3 for further proceedings.
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