Mumbai corporators across parties question BMC hawker eviction drive

Corporators from the BJP, UBT Shiv Sena, MNS, and Congress have sharply questioned the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s 'Pedestrian First' drive against hawkers, calling the enforcement arbitrary and poorly executed at the ward level. They challenged the civic body's decision to spend Rs 1.67 crore on QR-coded identity cards for 99,435 eligible hawkers while simultaneously evicting them, with several corporators pointing to the Bombay High Court's May 6 order mandating the cards.

BJP corporator Sheetal Gambhir said hawkers in her ward with three-decade-old businesses were not being spared, and asked the BMC to stop penalising eligible vendors. MNS leader Yashwant Killedar alleged enforcement was more intense in areas like Dadar compared to Andheri. The BMC's additional municipal commissioner Prajakta Lavangare Verma denied selective action, saying all wards were directed to clear priority footpaths near schools, hospitals, and metro stations. A senior official warned that even eligible hawkers could face action for exceeding their allotted space.

Following the discussion, standing committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde directed civic and police officials to stop evicting eligible hawkers until permanent vending zones are allocated. The Pedestrian First campaign aims to clear 320 km of footpaths across Mumbai, and the BMC is also monitoring enforcement through a dashboard requiring ward officials to report action taken.