'Matter Has Been Put In Cold Storage': Calcutta High Court Directs State Gov To Take Proactive Steps To Ensure Implementation Of Street Vendors Act

The Calcutta High Court on Monday observed that there is a duty cast on the State of West Bengal to implement the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and the 2018 Rules framed thereunder. Accordingly, the Court directed the State to file an affidavit before the Court detailing a route map in this regard within 4 weeks.

A Bench comprising Justices T.S Sivagnanam and Hiranmay Bhattacharya observed,

"We wish to point out that the State of West Bengal and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation should not treat this litigation as an adversarial litigation but should take all proactive steps to ensure that the provisions of the Act are implemented. There is a duty cast upon the State to implement the provisions of the Act which came to be enacted after the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case arising from the State of Maharashtra. Thus the concerned official of the Municipal affairs department should take a serious view in the matter and place before this Court an action taken report or a route map as to how they propose to proceed in the matter"

The Bench also noted that the instant plea focuses on a 'very important issue which concern the public at large' and further observed that the petitioner has been pursuing the matter for several years and this is the third writ petition where the petitioner seeks for a direction upon the authorities to implement provision of Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and the 2018 Rules.

"We find that the Act came into force in the year 2014, the rules were not framed which necessitated the petitioner to come before this court and only after direction was issued by the Hon'ble First Bench of this Court the Rules were notified in the year 2018. We find nothing has happened thereafter and the matter has been put in the cold storage", the Court remarked further.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Municipal Commissioner, Kolkata Municipal Corporation as well as the Secretary to the Government of West Bengal, Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal to file an affidavit in this regard within 4 weeks. Reply if any was directed to be filed within 2 weeks.

Before adjourning the matter for further hearing to January 12, 2022 the Court observed,

"We are confident that the State of West Bengal and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation will take necessary steps in the process of implementation of the Act and pendency of this writ petition should not be cited to be a roadblock for such purpose"

The petitioner has been represented by Advocates Srikanta Dutta, Rituparna Sarkar Dutta and Jayanta Kumar Dhar. 

Case Title: Akshya Kumar Sarangi v. State of West Bengal

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