Shillong, July 2: The Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) has threatened to take legal action against Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh for accusing its leaders of deliberately obstructing the relocation of hawkers in Khyndailad area.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the general secretary Shane Thabah said the association objects to Lyngdoh’s press statement, which insinuated that they are obstructing relocation.
“We urge the minister to substantiate his allegations against the association, else we will be forced to take legal remedies against him,” he said.
The hawkers’ body accused Lyngdoh of failing to do anything during his tenure as urban affairs minister of the state.
Thabah said, “It is not surprising given the record of this career as politician to be issuing such statements, but it is shameful nonetheless, especially given that he was also once an urban affairs minister who never thought of or did anything about this issue. Even after he lost the elections, if he was an engaged citizen who truly cares for this town he would have offered his two bits in all these years.
Thabah also said the government has delayed the implementation of the law and is now trying to subvert its proper and transparent implementation.
According to him, the association objected to the haphazard issuing of licenses to non-genuine hawkers, denial of licenses to genuine hawkers, and the recent evictions that were illegal and caused chaos in the Khyndailad area.
“We who are members of the Provisional Town Vending Committee know where the process is at, we know that a second list is awaited and that we had agreed to a phased manner of issuing of CoV. So the threat that there is a deadline of 22nd July to shift does not cut ice with us, because we have never agreed to even such a date,” he said.
“For us if the processes were properly in place and the space made ready through collaborative planning and designing with us, as agreed upon in the PTVC, we can move even before the 22! But the fact remains that there are anomalies in the process that need addressing, else it will only compound the issues.”
According to Thabah the government’s claims about the number of vendors surveyed and eligible for licenses are also false and misleading.
“Furthermore, it is also a blatant lie that elocation infrastructure” is in place,” he said.
“In fact we had put in apprehensions that in the absence of mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability we do not wish for such transactions that may in fact turn out to be an avenue for corruption in the name of hawkers,” he said.
The association also condemned the municipal authorities for creating law and order situation in the Khyndailad area, where forceful illegal eviction and intimidation tactics are being used.
‘Khyndailad a natural market’
The Shillong Roadside Hawkers Association (SRHA) has demanded the immediate suspension of the eviction drive and revocation of the no-vending zone status of Khyndailad recognising it as a natural market.
In a petition issued to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) on Wednesday, SRHA President T Nongbri said that the eviction drive and relocation of street vendors to the MUDA complex violate the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
The association said the government’s notification declaring Khyndailad a “no vending zone” is invalid due to lack of justification for an urgent public purpose.
Nongbri said the MUDA complex is unfit for vending as it lacks essential infrastructure, including toilets, water, shelter, and lighting.
The SRHA wanted the SMB to evaluate alternative sites for vending, conduct a fresh survey to issue Certificates of Vending (CoVs) to genuine vendors, and provide compensation to affected vendors.
