Shillong, Jan 21: The Meghalaya & Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers & Street Vendors Association (MGSPHSVA) on Tuesday threatened to resort to agitation if the provisional town vending committee (PTVC) fail to convene an emergency meeting within two days.
The association of hawkers also demanded the immediate withdraw of public notifications and cancellation of all actions done by the PTVC. The association called PTVC an illegal body.
According to the association, eligible vendors should elect representatives to a legally mandated TVC as per the December 13, 2022 letter.
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 note 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.”
“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,” Pyrtuh said.
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 over Rs 6 crore will be spent for constructing stalls in 3 locations.
“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.
