Introducing the seminar Joint Director, Regional Centre for Urban & Environmental Studies (RCUES), Lucknow Dr. Urmila Bagga said Street hawking is a world wide phenomenon. It has been an important source of self employment for the poor in India and as a profession has been in existence since times immemorial. It has always been a persistent feature of Indian Trade and Commerce. In most of Indian cities, the urban poor survive by working in the informal sector. Over 90 percent of the country's work force earns its livelihood in the informal sector which accounts for 63 percent of the country's GDP. The street vendors and hawkers constitute the most visible and active parts of this large informal sector. The number of street vendors increased manifold in the past decades. According to one study Mumbai has the largest numbers of  street vendors numbering around 250,000 while Delhi has around 200,000. Calcutta has more than 150,000 street vendors. And Ahmadabad has around 100,000. Women constitute a large number of street vendors in almost every city. Some studies estimate that street vendors constitute approximately 2% of the population of a metropolis. The total number of street vendors in the country is estimated at around one crore.

Another Guest of Honour Commissioner Cum Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development , Government of Orissa Dr A.K.Panda said all urban plans allot space for public use. These include space for parks and gardens, markets, educational institutions, hospitals etc. Each city has its development plan which may or may not be implemented. A study on street venders carried out by NASVI some years back made an assessment of the plans of the urban development authorities of the seven cities including Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Patna and Imphal indicated that the term public space has a very restrictive meaning. hawkers or markets that can care of hawking are not considered in the discussions on public space in these plans. As per report of the above mentioned study , only two of the cities namely Imphal and Bhubaneswar had some provisions for including street vendors in their plans. Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has reserved 3 % of the public space as commercial zone.Shops are allotted space in this area through draws of lots. Space is also reserved on the pavements for street vendors which are a positive aspect of the authority's plan. However the space is not sufficient for the hawkers to play their trades. Street vending is covered by a multitude of laws from municipal and traffic to commercial laws, from railway acts to laws covering parks and other public spaces .In most laws,the sections covering vendors are based on earlier legislations ,many of  which can be traced back to British laws, more specifically the Poor Laws, enacted in Britain at the beginning of the 19th century. Almost all cities have police and municipal laws that help to protect public spaces and allow free flow of traffic on the roads. Street vending in Bhubaneswar is regulated by the Orissa Municipality Act.1950. Section 295(2) of this Act provides that a municipality has the right to provide places for use as public markets while levying certain fees as deemed necessary for a maximum period of 3 years and subject  to certain prescribed conditions. It is imperative for a person to obtain the permission of the municipality for the sale or exposition of goods, failing which the Executive Officer or the Municipal Commissioner may expel him/her. No person can open a new private market unless he/she obtain a license from the municipality to do so. Vending zones at Bhubaneswar already working while steps are taken for vending zones at Cuttack, Puri, Raurkela, and Berhampur city.

On behalf NASVI, Shri.Arbind Singh,National Coordinator participated and gave presentation on national level experience of NASVI regarding street vendor organizations and  Implementation of National Policy on Urban Street Vendors.

1. Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation
2. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
3. Municipal Corporation Bhubaneshwar
4. Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation  
5. Government of Chattishgarh
6. Role of State Governments and Urban Local Bodies