Mumbai's Authorised Street Vendors Say Smart IDs Fail to Stop Harassment

Despite receiving QR code-enabled identity cards from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), several authorised street vendors in Mumbai say the documents have not prevented police harassment or threats of eviction. The cards were introduced in May after the Bombay High Court directed the civic body to distinguish licensed hawkers from illegal ones.

Maya Satheliya, 52, who has run a garment stall with her husband in Borivali for 35 years, said the card issued to her husband in June holds no value before the police. "This card is not helping me as it holds no value in the eyes of the police," she said. "When the police aren't around, we make a sale; when we see their car, we run like rats and they trail us. Even after getting the card, there has been no change."

The BMC has issued smart ID cards to 51,000 authorised vendors so far. When scanned, the QR code links to a BMC verification portal showing the hawker's name, ID number, and ward. Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Special) Vinayak Vispute said the system would clearly distinguish licensed vendors from unauthorised ones and prevent fake licences. "During anti-encroachment drives, those with ID cards will not be targeted," he said.

The cards were issued following a May 6 order by a Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata. The court gave the BMC five weeks to issue cards to 99,435 authorised hawkers identified in a 2014 survey under the Street Vendors Act, 2014. It also said hawkers outside this list, including Bangladeshi nationals, could be evicted.

The court was hearing petitions challenging the election process of the Town Vending Committee (TVC), a body mandated by the Act to conduct surveys and designate vending zones. The court observed that the TVC had not been formed even years after the Act came into force in March 2014, and the process "appears to have become entangled in considerations of money, power, and politics rather than governance."

According to the BMC, Mumbai will have eight TVCs — one for each of the city's seven zones plus an apex panel. Each panel will include members from the state government, hawkers' unions, and other stakeholders. However, the committee is yet to be constituted. "We are awaiting government nod. Wards have proposed hawker zones. The TVC will be formed within a week," Mr. Vispute said on August 5.

The delay has affected authorised hawkers across the city. Jai Singh of the Azaad Hawkers' Association said, "The rampant crackdowns and delay in designating vending zones have been affecting our livelihood." Nagraj, who runs a Chinese food stall in Kurla, said his cart was seized at least three times this year, and he paid ₹1,200 each time to retrieve it.

In Borivali's Jamli Gali, Shantaram Shinde, 57, questioned the logic of issuing ID cards before forming the TVC. "They say hawking will be allowed only when the TVC is formed; is it fair?" he asked. Hawkers in Borivali, Kurla, and Jogeshwari have demanded at least three to four hours of daily vending during non-peak hours until zones are notified.

Ravindra Yadav, 46, a third-generation fruit seller from Jogeshwari, received his ID card in June but was turned away when he submitted it at the local police station. "The police say there is no such order from the court. They ask us to bring them a circular issued by the BMC. When we approach authorities in our ward, they say the BMC is yet to send it. There is no coordination," he said. Yadav and the Azaad Hawkers' Association submitted a letter to the Jogeshwari police station on July 29 seeking clarity.