Nagpur hawkers accuse NMC of fixing objection deadline without written notice
Eight elected hawker representatives on Nagpur's Town Vending Committee have submitted a memorandum to the commissioner, alleging the civic body announced the objection deadline without any written notice.
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Tension is rising in Nagpur between hawkers and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) administration as the Maharashtra government prepares the draft of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme 2026.
The eight elected hawker representatives of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) have expressed strong displeasure at the administration's conduct. They have submitted an urgent objection and a memorandum to the commissioner.
The representatives allege that the administration declared the last date for objections on its own, without any official written notice. It is now being said that the administration received no objections at all. According to the representatives, treating this as the "consent of hawkers", when no authorised information about the deadline was ever given to them, is wholly unjust and misleading.
Speaking for the representatives, Abdul Razzak Qureshi said they represent thousands of street vendors in the city. Lodging objections and suggestions on the government's new policy is their statutory right, he said.
On October 3, the administration was quoted as saying that not a single objection had been received by September 30. The representatives have taken strong exception to this. They ask under which government resolution or administrative order the September 30 deadline was fixed, and are demanding a certified copy of that order.
They have also raised further questions. On what date did the state government send the draft scheme to the NMC? When did the Town Vending Committee receive it? And when, and through what means, was written notice of the deadline sent to the eight elected representatives?
The representatives made clear that they are not opposing any administrative or government process. They said they are protecting the democratic rights given to them by the Constitution and the street vendors law. They demand that the hawkers' voice not be ignored and that the final scheme be framed only after their objections are accepted.
The memorandum also cites a landmark High Court order passed in Writ Petition Nos. 3890/2021 and 3665/2022. According to the memorandum, paragraph 7 of the order clearly directs that, after the draft scheme is sent to municipal corporations, the Town Vending Committee will get two months to lodge its objections.
According to the representatives, the court has also held that every TVC has the full right to put its case before the government. They allege that the NMC administration's hasty move to declare the deadline over and wrap up the process is a disregard of the court's order.
