NDMC To Regulate Squatting By Issuing Smart Cards To Vendors

NEW DELHI, April 5: In a bid to regulate hawker activities in areas under its jurisdiction, the New Delhi Municipal Council has started issuing smart cards to licensed street vendors. At present there are 961 licensed street vendors operating with NDMC's nod and the civic body has constituted a town vending committee to conduct a survey for updating the rolls. "The smart cards will have security features like 'bar code' and 'RFID tag' which will help differentiate between authorised and unauthorsied vendors," NDMC spokesperson said. RFID tagging is an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking purposes. "This will facilitate the genuine hawkers to earn their livelihood in a peaceful and dignified manner. Besides, it will help the supervisory staff to manage and identify the legal or illegal squatters at the ground," he added. NDMC has also asked these squatters and hawkers to form Self Help Groups (SHG) streetwise, blockwise or as per the appropriate local conditions to regulate their own functioning and prevent unauthorized squatters. The civic body will also provide smart phones to field functionaries which have capabilities to read both bar code and RFID tag. Street vending has been a perennial issue for municipal corporations in the city. While civic bodies face a tough time managing them, the vendors themselves live in fear of losing their livelihoods as their goods are frequently seized by officials for illegally occupying public space. Hence, the system of issuing licenses was put in place by NDMC for the vendors. -PTI