Bhupender, a street vendor, and a nano-entrepreneur at one of the most populous capital cities on the planet, New Delhi, India faced undue harassment by bureaucracy. This is the story of the challenges that street vendors in India regularly face and the ways liberal innovative solutions like Jeevika contribute to upholding their individual freedom, and right to a life of dignity.
It is often said that hard and honest work is the best way to earn a livelihood. However, when bureaucratic forces set to protect one’s basic rights are unjust, simply the act of carrying out honest hard work becomes a fight for sustenance. Such is the story of Bhupender, a hardworking tea seller (chaiwala) from Rajendra Nagar Market, in the vibrant city landscape of the Indian national capital of New Delhi. Bhupender has been an integral part of his local community for the past decade, as he runs a small tea stall near the BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital. This stall is his only means of livelihood to support his family through the earnings scraped together each day. Yet, like countless other market vendors, his path to securing a dignified livelihood is fraught with unnecessary, unwanted, and unanticipated bureaucratic obstacles.
The Impact of Unlawful Fines on Street Vendors
On the morning of February 14th, 2024, The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials visited Bhupender and other co-vendors’ shops. Bhupender, like most of the other vendors in the area, has all the requisite legal documents to carry out vending activities such as a Certificate of Vending (CoV) and a Letter of Recommendation (LoR). Despite his efforts to explain that he possessed these valid documents, the MCD officials issued a challan against him under sections 357 and 397 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 for encroaching on public land and depositing waste. Both these sections deal with the question of cleanliness in the area including the disposal of garbage and other sanitary issues. The prescribed fine under these sections is INR 50 each (~USD 0.60). However, when Bhupender appeared in the Metropolitan court on the appointed date, the udge imposed a fine of INR 5000 (~USD 60) and instructed him to pay it within 3 days. This amount might seem meager to many, however, for a street vendor who barely manages to earn Rs 400-500 (~USD 5-6) a day, the amount is significant. This judgment left Bhupinder feeling helpless and vulnerable.
What happened to Bhupender is not an isolated event. Many vendors across the country, share similar experiences on an everyday basis. Such unlawful fines and evictions have become a part of every small-scale urban nano-entrepreneur’s routine life. This has encroached on their basic economic freedom of personal choice of entering the market and earning a livelihood. All of this was when the Centre for Civil Society worked to get a relatively progressive Street Vendors Act passed through the Indian parliament in the year 2014. One can wonder that despite the fact that there is a law to safeguard and protect the street vendors, why are the market vendors targeted so often? Street vendors are one of the driving forces of our bustling and vibrant cities and what can be done to ensure they feel protected and have a flourishing livelihood? As per a harassment study conducted by the Centre for Civil Society in 2022, approximately 91% of street vendors are not aware of the existence of the Street Vendors Act. This effect of this alarming statistic has a compounding effect on the system when seen together with the lack of necessary legal aid services for this vulnerable group of entrepreneurs.
Weak and vulnerable, unarmed with the knowledge of their basic rights, street vendors have become an easy target for corrupt local officials. We believe that by equipping vendors with knowledge of the legal structures in place to protect their rights, such as the Street Vendors Act of 2014, and by providing easily accessible legal aid free of charge, the present conditions of street vendors can be considerably improved ensuring their space in the open free market.
The Role of Legal Empowerment for Street Vendors
The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, which took effect on 01 May 2014, is aimed at safeguarding the livelihoods of street vendors and regulating their activities across urban markets nationwide. This legislation addresses various issues pertaining to the protection of vendors’ rights, ensuring their social security, and managing urban street vending in a balanced manner that also promotes public welfare. Among its provisions, the Act calls for the establishment of Town Vending Committees (TVCs), mandates surveys of street vendors, and facilitates the resolution of disputes through Grievance Redressal Committees (GRCs). Street vendors, who constitute approximately 2% of the urban population, play a crucial role in the urban landscape, supporting themselves through various vending activities such as selling fruits, clothing, cooked and uncooked meals, and more Preserving their rights and economic freedoms therefore imperative given their integral contribution to urban life.
Bhupender’s Journey Towards Justice as a Street Vendor
Keeping in mind the perils of street vendors and the ethos of the legislation, the Centre for Civil Society designed the Jeevika Mobile App, which is an accessible online platform that makes legal aid and advocacy available to street vendors at the convenience of one click.
Fortunately for Bhupender, Veer Bhadra, a respected figure in the market, emerged as a ray of hope. Bhadra guided Bhupender to seek recourse through the Jeevika mobile app. Bhupender lodged a complaint on the app. With the assistance of the Jeevika team, an advocate was allotted to help Bhupender. With the advocate’s guidance, Bhupender lodged a complaint on February 15, 2024, marking the beginning of his journey toward justice. The wheels of justice, though initially daunting, began to turn in Bhupender’s favor. Despite the metropolitan judge imposing a substantial fine of Rs 5000 during the initial hearing on February 15, 2024, Bhupender refused to capitulate. Armed with determination and supported by the Jeevika team lawyer, Bhupender attended subsequent hearings, where the validity of his vending documents was vehemently defended.
A Victory for Street Vendors
On February 17, 2024, Bhupender’s perseverance bore fruit as the metropolitan court acknowledged the legitimacy of his vending documents. In a significant victory, the fine was reduced from Rs 5000 to Rs 500 (~USD 6), aligning with the stipulations of the DMC Act. This outcome not only spared Bhupender from an unjust financial burden but also underscored the efficacy of legal support provided through initiatives like the Jeevika mobile app.
The Broader Impact on Street Vendors
Bhupender’s account represents street vendors’ persistence in the face of adversity. Their everyday hardships often go beyond the everyday challenges of running a small stall, including the potential of harassment and exploitation. However, initiatives such as the Jeevika mobile app provide a ray of hope for street vendors who need legal assistance and representation. The reduction in Bhupender’s fine demonstrates the power of constructive support and the commitment of initiatives like Jeevika to protect the rights of street vendors. Beyond legal successes, these achievements have broader cultural ramifications, indicating a greater awareness of the dignity and legitimacy of these nano-scale entrepreneurs and their contributions to the urban landscape.
As Bhupender continues to run his stall at Rajender Nagar market, his story serves as a reminder of the value of legal empowerment and collective action in protecting the rights of street vendors. The democratic ethos of India entails freedom for all, acceptability, equality, and inclusivity in society. To be a true democracy, these ethos need to resonate with every sector of our society, including marketplaces that need to be open, accessible, and just to every vendor. Big changes do not happen suddenly, they happen with small steps in the right direction. Bhupender’s story is one such step towards economic freedom for all his fellow vendors. This is a story of how civil society innovation can provide a ray of hope to entrepreneurs, to uphold their human agency, and to enable a fulfilling path to flourish and prosper.