Mumbai civic body acts against over 1.12 lakh hawkers

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MGCM) has taken action against over 1.12 lakh illegal food vendors/hawkers in 24 civic wards in last six months.
The civic body also seized their goods to the tune of Rs 30 crore and recovered a fine of 2.03 crore. Action was taken following orders by MGCM chief Ajoy Mehta, a senior civic official said today.
From April to September, MGCM teams acted against 1,12,651 illegal hawkers/food vendors in the city and a fine of Rs 2,03,55,344 was collected from them.
The teams have also seized goods and articles from them upto Rs 30.59 crore.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (removal of encroachment) Milind Sawant said, "While cracking down on illegal hawkers and food vendors, our team has seized 5,160 hand carts, 1,044 cylinders, 57 table-stalls, 24 sugarcane crushing machines and other goods and articles."
Most of the hawkers were found in G-North ward wherein 13,173 illegal food vendors were caught. 8,056 were caught in A-ward. The civic body acted against 6,248 illegal food vendors in R-south Ward.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam termed MCGM's action as "illegal".
Congress is the opposition party in the MGCM which is ruled by Shiv Sena and BJP.
"This is unfortunate. Rather the regularizing the hawkers in the wake of the Supreme Court order, MCGM is playing with the livelihood of the hawkers and putting their lives in jeopardy," claimed Nirupam, who is also a petitioner in one of the cases filed in the Bombay High Court against the civic body over this issue.

"This is a clear violation of the guidelines of the apex court," the Congress leader said.
Activists have been asking MCGM to act soft on illegal hawkers and have filed petitions in the Bombay High Court in this regard.