Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is all set to distribute street vending licences with Quick Response (QR) Code and GPS-enabled vending licences and identity cards to all street vendors in city.

The MCC has already conducted a survey of street vendors based on the directives from the State government to facilitate the extension of facilities provided by Union and State governments for street vendors under Deendayal Antyodaya National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM). Oct. 30 was the last date to submit the applications for vending licence and identity card.

MCC had distributed 5,000 applications forms for enrolment of street vendors under the programme and of this, 1,400 have submitted the duly filled-in application forms. While filing the applications, the street vendors had to submit documents like a photo identity card, BPL ration card, Aadhaar card, caste certificate, bank passbook and photographs with family members, family details, place and time of business, etc.

Street vendors must use the licence and identity card while doing business. The GPS-enabled identity card and licence will help officials trace their location and details on the government schemes availed by the vendor.

The identity card and licence will be issued to a single person. Either that person or his family members can run the business in the place allocated by the MCC. This identity card will also check the street vendors from renting their pushcarts to others, officials said.

President of Karnataka State Street Vendors Federation Bhaskar Srinivas Raje Urs said that there are nearly 12,000 street vendors selling vegetables, fruits, fast food items, clothes, handkerchiefs, handicrafts, etc.  “The identity card and licence will be useful to street vendors. This will also help them and their family members to avail various government benefits. He said the identity cards and licence will also check misuse and will facilitate ease of business,” he said.

Regarding only 1,400 vendors applying for this new system, he admitted that the response from the vendors had been poor despite the Federation’s best efforts. “We had identified representatives ward-wise to enrol vendors. Though applications had been distributed to many of them, they are yet to submit the same with the required documents. Many of them are still arranging the documents,” he lamented.

Though the last date for vendors to submit filled-in applications was on Oct. 30, the MCC has relaxed the deadline. The civic body will start issuing vending certificates with QR codes only after receiving a substantial number of applications.

“We will start processing the applications after we receive about 2,000 of them and issue the vending certificates,” said G.M. Ravindra, Additional Commissioner of MCC, who is also in-charge officer of DAY-NULM.

Vending banned on these Streets…

MCC has banned street vending at various places such as the surroundings of Town Hall, Ramavilas Road, Gandhi Square,  Sayyaji Rao Road, Devaraja Urs Road,  Mysore Palace, Krishna Vilas Road, J.K. Grounds, 100 feet Road, Irwin Road, K.R. Circle, Highway Circle and Dhanvanthri Road.

G.M. Ravindra, Additional Commissioner, said that MCC has constituted Town Business Committee to ensure basic facilities for street vendors. This Committee has already identified street vending business spots, allotment of site, types of street vending business, location size and area, worked out the details of rent collection. It also categorised the street vending business like selling fruits, vegetables, fast foods etc. MCC will fix monthly rent depending upon location, size and business. Rental charges between Rs. 200 and Rs. 1,000 will be collected and licences renewed in April every year.

22 street vending spots identified

MCC has identified 22 spots for street vending across the city and it is creating facilities stage by stage at the identified spots like the one near Ballal Circle where over 30 street vendors can do their business.

Other street vending spots are Second Main Road  in JP Nagar A and B Block, 20th Cross, 24th Main Road in JP Nagar Second Phase,  near Vivekanandanagar Circle at Ramakrishnanagar,  Market Yard in Arvindanagar, place opposite Saraswathipuram Swimming Pool,  near water tank on Vishwamanava Double Road,  area opposite St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bannimantap,  Basappaji Circle at N.R. Mohalla, Abdul Rehaman Road,  Lidkar Colony near Azeez Sait Road, near RTO Office on Rajkumar Road,  P&T Quarters and Police Quarters at N.R. Mohalla, near Bus Stand  behind Devanoor Lake, near  Gupta Stores in Rajivnagar,  near Bus Stand in JP Nagar, Opposite Jayanagar Community Health Centre, near GTR Hotel in Chamundipuram and at Government  plot  near Madegowda School in Basavanagudi Circle.