Gauhati High Court Gives 'Last Opportunity' To GMC To Provide Details Of Service Provider Entrusted With Building & Maintaining 'Vending Zones'

The Gauhati High Court on Friday granted the last opportunity to Guwahati Municipal Corporation to apprise it of the details of the Service Provider which was engaged in developing and maintaining the vending zones and also to provide the details of works that have been done by the said service provider.

A division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice N. Unni Krishnan Nair observed that though the Service Provider was engaged on August 05, 2024, however, what action has been taken by it after its engagement, has not been elaborated in the additional affidavit filed by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).

The Court on August 14, 2024, issued a direction to GMC to specify the details of 81 vending zones which have been established by it. It was also directed that the GMC may provide information as to when Phase-I is going to start and what facilities in those vending zones for the street vendors as well as the public at large are to be provided.

Pursuant to the said direction, the GMC filed an additional affidavit in which it provided a list of vending zones declared by the GMC in exercise of power under Section 18(1) of The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihoods and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. In the affidavit, it was mentioned that the GMC engaged a Service Provider (vide order dated August 05, 2024), namely, 'Indigenous Vendors Welfare India Association' and entrusted it with the responsibility to develop/build uniform design, layout vending carts, conduct survey and allocate vending carts to the designated vendors.

It was further stated that the responsibility of fixing monthly maintenance, including water supply, electricity connection, timely cleaning, waste management, maintain safety and hygiene standards, revenue generation for GMC, protection against illegal encroachments, etc. has also been entrusted to the Service Provider.

The Court noted: “It is also mentioned in the affidavit that the Service Provider was engaged vide order dated 05.08.2024. However, no such order is available on record.”

“We grant last opportunity to the counsel for the GMC to produce copy of the order dated 05.08.2024 whereby the Service Provider was engaged for developing and maintaining the vending zones and also to provide the details of works that have been done by the Service Provider after 05.08.2024,” the Court said.

The matter is listed again on October 23.

Case Title: Nipon Dholua v. The State of Assam and 2 Ors.

Case No.: PIL/15/2021

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