Nirupam blasts govt for not implementing policy for hawkers

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam today lashed out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not implementing a policy for hawkers as per the provisions of a Parliament-enacted law and alleged that the state government was also committing a contempt of the court.
"I have learnt that this government is restraining the hawkers from getting benefits of the new policy by putting in domicile conditions, which is in contravention of the provisions laid down by the Supreme Court and the Parliament and thus it is committing a contempt of the court," he said.
Ever since the Parliament passed the act protecting hawkers' rights, he was following the issue with the authorities, but the BJP-led government was hell-bent on undoing the act's provisions, Nirupam said.

"After a long deliberation in the Supreme Court, this act was passed by the Parliament in 2014 and it mandated all the municipalities to implement it. After a year, when there was no progress at all in its implementation, I knocked on the door of High Court in 2015. The High Court gave orders in my favour and reprimanded the civic body and government and asked them to implement it," the Congress leader said.
"But instead of implementing the court's order, this government is not only putting additional restrictions, but also dismantling hawkers' livelihood in the city," he said.
"Sena-BJP are promoting illegal hawking in the city which is mushrooming, with an unholy nexus of (the civic body) BMC officials and police extorting hundreds of crores of rupees from hawkers. They fear that if the new policy comes, they will lose this huge source of money," Nirupam said.

The Congress leader on this occasion also spoke about a 9-point agenda for the benefit of North Indian voters ahead of upcoming civic elections in Mumbai.