A food stall on a pavement can’t occupy more than 24sq ft of space and other stalls 15sq ft, mayoral council member Debasish Kumar told the monthly session of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday.
Kumar, who looks after hawker-related issues, said the size was determined by the street vending rules, framed by the state government and published in 2018. He was responding to questions from a Trinamul councillor who wanted to know the permissible size of a stall.
But the rules are rarely followed on Kolkata’s pavements, even on the ones where the KMC has drawn yellow lines to demarcate the space that should be reserved for pedestrians. Stalls of much bigger sizes are common.
“All non-food stalls have to be restricted within 15sq ft, while a food stall cannot be bigger than 24sq ft,” Kumar said. “Plastic or other flammable materials cannot be used in a stall.”
The street vending rules have also said that no stall can be set up on more than one-third of the width of a pavement, which means that at least two-thirds must be free for pedestrians.
The two rules — leaving two-thirds free and the maximum size — will be applicable simultaneously.
Kumar also said letting out a stall to anyone was not allowed and any hawker found doing that will lose the certificate of vending.
The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, a central act, has said street vendors must be given a certificate of vending by the local authorities. Kumar said violation of any rules will lead to cancellation of the certificate, which means the hawker will lose the right to street vending.
Ceding ground?
A Trinamul councillor, Biswarup Dey, said at the session on Friday that the civic body was ceding ground to police on matters that were under the KMC.
Dey cited banners put up by the Kolkata police asking people to call them if parking attendants overcharged or misbehaved with someone.
Dey said it was the KMC that had the authority to allow parking on a road. “People should complain to the KMC. Instead, the police have put up boards asking people to complain to them. Is the KMC becoming over-dependant on the police?” he asked.
While responding to his question, mayor Firhad Hakim said the KMC and the police worked together on many matters.