The town vending committee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to approach the Calcutta High Court for reconsideration of the direction for removal of hawkers from a spot near Medical College.
The decision comes following a meeting of the town vending committee at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s headquarters today. Members of the committee have decided to become a party to the case and make an appeal for reconsideration of the direction for removal of the hawkers.
Last month, a direction had come following a petition about blocking the footpath in front of 111 College Street. The civic body had then submitted a report about relocating the hawkers to 112 College Street, following previous directions. But the HC directed the KMC to take steps to remove hawkers from the College Street footpath and not relocate them nearby. The court had also observed that the footpath should be kept absolutely free for pedestrians to walk.
In the background of the direction, the KMC is now considering submitting another report and making an appeal to allow hawkers rehabilitation as per the laws of the Central Act instead of a complete eviction. “From the town vending committee we will also submit a report,” informed the president of West Bengal Hawkers’ Joint Action Committee and a member of the TVC, Asit Saha. The kind of rehabilitation done near Tridhara Construction has been very good. The TVC has carried out the relocation after a survey. Therefore, we will appeal for reconsideration of the direction,” he added.
The TVC also decided to create more space in New Market to accommodate the registered hawkers. For this, some of the boulevards and illegal parking would also be removed to create additional footpaths.