Street vendor's national policy revised soon
The 'National Policy on Street Vendors' is being revised to enable street vendors carry out their trade without harassment by various authorities, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Selja said on Monday. "A model act on street vendors will be circulated to state governments, which should implement it accordingly," she told reporters on the sidelines of launching Slum Free City, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) here. Since vendors also form a major part of the economic growth of a city, they should have the right to a place to carry on their business, Selja said. Governments should identify proper land for them without giving any opportunity for encroachment, she said, adding that there should not be any harassment or confiscation of their goods in future.A revised 'integrated low cost sanitation programme' to eliminate manual scavenging, which still exists in many states was underway, Selja said, adding that a revised urban housing and habitat policy was also in the final stages of preparation. The Ministry, she said, would launch an interest rate subsidy scheme for housing the poor, who would be able to get loans from banks and other institutions at lower than market rates to build their houses. "A major initiative is also planned for gender budgeting to focus on women's empowerment in a structured way through budgets under various schemes," Selja said.
