Hawkers threaten to resort to agitation if PTVC fails to convene meeting within two days, withdraw “illegal” notices

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJanuary 21, 2025

The Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers & Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) on Tuesday threatens to resort to agitation if the provisional town vending committee (PTVC) fail to convene an emergency meeting within two days time.

The association of hawers also demanded the immediate withdraw of public notifications and cancellation of all actions done by the PTVC, which they alleged is an illegal body besides starting the process of claims and objections and creation of eligible list of hawkers and street vendors who should be issued certificate of vending.

According to them, this electoral college of eligible vendors should elect their representatives to a legally mandated TVC as it was made clear in a letter dated December 13, 2022 constituting a provisional TVC as an interim arrangement to do the in situ survey, examine claims and objection etc. 

This came following the recent issuing of notices for relocation of hawkers and street vendors from Khyndailad. 

In a letter to the chairperson of the PTVC, president of the association Biolin Pyrtuh said, “There is a serious breach wherein the notice is purportedly being issued by a TVC. Please not that till date there is no TVC but merely a Provisional Town Vending Committee. The Governr has been willfully misled into signing a notification and we hope that the High Court is also not being misled. We call for an emergency meeting of the PTVC within two days of receipt of this letter to discuss the points raised in this letter as well as our past letters placed before the PTVC.”

She alleged that the PTVC is not the legally sanctioned institution as per law to notify the vending zones, order relocation or approve street vending plan. 

“We the hawkers and street vendors of Meghalaya agreed to the temporary PTVC as we have pointed again and again to merely conduct the insitu survey, study claims and objections, and prepare a list of geniune hawkers and street vendors who will be issued certificate of vending. This was the terms which the government offered and which we the hawkers agreed to cooperate to, to roll out the process and ensure smooth implementation of the law,” Pyrtuh said while adding that a legally mandated proper TVC that has to have forty percent hawkers and street vendors representatives elected by geniune hawkers and street vendors needs to be constituted. It is this TVC that is legally mandated to approve street vending plan that would include street vending timings, nature of vending locations, holding capacity etc.

“You have been issuing notifications as chairperson of TVC which is illegal and fraudulent. You are merely chairperson of provisional TVC. We want you to withdraw all the notices that you haveissued as the TVC because no TVC has been constituted yet,” she demanded while questioning “How can you issue public notifications on behalf of a non existent TVC and get it published in newspapers?” 

She said in view of this the hawkers refused to accept such notices because there is nobody called TVC and this notice is blatantly illegal. 

Referring to their previous letters on the matter, Pyrtuh said that the digital insitu survey that we helped PTVC conduct will become legally null and void because most of the hawkers and street vendors surveyed did not receive the digital acknowledgment and survey numbers. 

“Even the process of claims and objections has not been done as per law – claims and objections have not been placed before the PTVC so that themembers of PTVC can examine and approve it,” she remarked.

“We the PTVC members have not been part of any identification of the vending locations and making plans so how can the chairperson alone of the PTVC unilaterally come up with location and areas and notify the same. We also wish to point to the erroneous minutes which suggests there is a consensus regarding the prpoosed vending zones and plans. How can there be vending plans and relocations where the survey process including digital survey and acknowledgements which were agreed upon have not been successfully and completely carried out. How can licensing hapen without this process being fully complete in a transparent and accountable manner,” she asked.

Pyrtuh further adding that “Issuing licenses without legal due diligence will only compoung the issues of regulation to which we hawkers have been committed to for the past 7 plus years from the time we demanded for a law. Relocation and vending plans cannot be mooted when licenses have not been properly issued. Furthermore, who identified these locations when the PTVC members have not even  done a physical inspection of locations?

In this regard how then have the notices been forcefully served on hawkers in the Khyndailad area?”

Expressing shock that contracts have been given to construct  vending stalls in MUDA and SBI main branch parking lot, the president of the hawkers association alleged, “This reeks of corruption because no tenders were placed before the PTVC. 

A powerpoint presentation regarding vending plan costs was presented at one of the PTVC meeting even when we objected to this step given that other processes were still not in place.

In that presentation it was mentioned that 6 plus crores will be spent for constructing stalls in 3 locations. How was this amount arrived at? Who approved this amount? Where are the quotations for this? Who are the consultants and contractors being hired? How were these appointed? We also demand for copies of all presentations and papers placed in front of the PTVC.” 

“We would also like to bring to your notice that workers of the SMB have been forcefully distributing notices issued by TVC in Khyndailad since January 8, 2025. Many hawkers were surprised as such a notice has not been discussed or approved by the PTVC,” she said.

” The notice can be construed as an eviction notice as it suggests relocation which has not been discussed threadbare and formally approved by the PTVC members. Moreover such notices can only be issued by legally constituted TVC. We take strong objection to this arbitrary action,” she added further.