Street Vendors' Livelihoods Jeopardised By Climate Change And Policy Inaction

Yet, behind these seasonal respites lies the harsh reality of street vendors manoeuvring around weather damage to their inventory and health as well as arbitrary evictions. Their livelihoods hang in a precarious balance, vulnerable to both the elements and the authorities.

Come rain or shine, Daneshvar Yadav, sets up his stall selling an assortment of cold beverages and cigarettes on Tansen Marg, near Mandi house in New Delhi.

He’s been earning a living from this stall for over 25 years when he first came from Bihar and the weather is the least of his concerns. “It’s not like you can do anything about that”, he says. He’s more afraid of “baiman log” or dishonest people. 

Yadav’s concern isn’t unique. It's been a decade since the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act came into existence in 2014. The law recognises and protects street vendors' right to livelihood on footpaths. The court has rejected labels like 'obstructions' or 'encroachers' and affirmed their economic role.

However, vendors all over urban India are still fighting for the basic right to exist. The battle with heatwaves, coldwaves and deluges comes after—when you’re not fearing the next unforeseen eviction. 

An Encroaching Menace Or A Soft Target

Consider this: Just last week the Bombay High Court observed that unauthorised street vendors and hawkers had “virtually taken over street lanes”. It reproached the police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their failure to take action against unauthorised hawkers that had reached 'alarming proportions'.

On the other hand, hawkers’ unions in the city alleged that evictions were not conducted in accordance with the Act. With hawking zones not yet demarcated, vendors hadn’t been given the chance to be authorised. It can’t be said which situation is more alarming.

This dichotomy is the case with many cities in India. In the same time frame as Mumbai, the highway department in Chennai used excavators to demolish roadside carts in a bid to alleviate traffic congestion in Tambaram. While the Act warrants due process and a notice of 30 days before eviction, the distressed street vendors claim that none at all was given.

Street vendors are often viewed as convenient scapegoats for urban problems, from traffic congestion to antisocial behaviour. 

“The system and the people see hawkers as the root cause of all problems in a city,” says Sandeep Verma, Delhi Convener of the National Hawkers Federation—a collective of unions across the country. 

“They see garbage, they blame the vendor; they see traffic, they blame the vendor; they see anti-social activities, they blame the vendor … Vendors are just soft targets,” Verma laments.

It is telling that last week, many of the first few cases under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were against street vendors. 

Adding insult to injury, it's not uncommon for vendors to be extorted by local authorities to avoid harassment. While official fines for vendors in Delhi range from Rs 20 to a maximum of Rs 750, Verma mentions instances where demands have reached up to Rs 10,000. 

Verma and his team are contesting these in court.

Last month in Shillong, scammers posing as officials from the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) cheated several street vendors out of thousands of rupees under the pretext of registration for vending, highlighting their vulnerability and desperation to become legitimate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed hawkers for embracing the idea of Digital India and introduced the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme for easy and cheap loans without guarantees, but systemic failures still impede a secure livelihood. 

While public perception of hawkers fluctuates based on the convenience they provide, or the lack thereof, it is imperative authorities remain fair and act in accordance with the legislation.

At The Behest Of Climate Change 

The problem with India’s extreme weather scenario is that it lacks object permanence in the minds of the public and the authorities. As heatwaves give way to floods, the rains have swept away the memory of the heat and its casualties.

Yadav had aptly brought to fore the reality of street vendors’ mindsets. With weather out of their control, they don’t think anything can be done. A few metres from where he stands, the Triveni Kala Sangam had housed an exhibition called Museum of Memories by Greenpeace India. It attempt to tell the stories of those affected by climate calamities. 

The exhibit displayed commonplace objects sourced directly from individuals or families affected by extreme weather events in the country. Away from jargon and numbers, it humanised the communities most vulnerable to climate change—informal workers, women, and children. 

While the disasters are seasonal, the climate crisis is not. This year, from April to June, about 40 per cent of the country experienced double the number of heatwave days than usual. 

Studies estimate that in India at least 1,000 people have died every year from 2008-2019 due to heat and experts concur that latest official data barely scratches the surface of the true toll which is in the thousands. 

Yet, heatwaves aren’t considered a national disaster. There's a growing demand for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to notify them as such. 

“As a system, as a government, we shouldn’t be so quick to jump from one issue to the next. While this is a seasonal disaster, we need constant attention from the government to attend to it,” said Amruta SN, Climate Justice Campaigner at Greenpeace India. 

“The intensity, frequency, and duration of the heatwaves are going to get higher. Only if we take sufficient action much in advance, can we hope to cope with the impending crisis” she said. 

An Unnotified Disaster

Since heatwaves aren’t as visual as say cyclones, it may be hard to envision them as a national disaster. But the classification holds a purpose. 

By including heatwaves in the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005 list of notified disasters, state governments can access the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for financing response and mitigation efforts. 

Currently, there are 12 categories of notified disasters: cyclones, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, and frost and cold waves. 

Adding heat waves to the list would ensure that affected states receive financial support to implement Heat Action Plans (HAPs), which include initiatives such as shaded areas, access to drinking water in public spaces, and providing oral rehydration solutions. These measures are crucial for protecting vulnerable populations, including street vendors. 

Additionally, the inclusion would mandate better reporting and monitoring of heat-related illnesses and deaths. It could compel authorities to prioritise heatwave preparedness and response strategies, thus minimising the adverse impact on public health, livelihoods, and the economy.

States have put this demand before the last three Finance Commissions to no avail. A suspected reason holding them back is the financial implication. For every life lost to a notified disaster, the government has to provide Rs 4 lakh in compensation.

The recent Heat Havoc report by Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation found that about half of the vendors experienced income losses in the summer months; three out of every five vendors suffered from heat related health issues such as dehydration, and less than 10 per cent had heard about the Delhi Heat Action Plan (HAP). 

Policy Implementation

The Street Vendors Act of 2014 was heralded as a robust and progressive legislation, aiming to protect, regulate, and even upgrade livelihoods. But, implementation remains a significant challenge. Each state was to formulate its own policies in accordance with the Act and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) were to be in charge of execution.

The Act, Verma explained, envisaged setting up  Town Vending Committees with 40 per cent representation of street vendors, a third of them being women. The Committee should include officials from the traffic police, health department and other stakeholders. Grievance Redressal Committees were to be set up as well, he added. 

But, there is little implementation on the ground. Despite all the theoretical provisions of protection, the mindset of municipal corporations, police, and even courts is still that street vendors are “illegal encroachers”.

“The first step is to identify the vendors, then certify them in their respective categories, and finally demarcate vending zones for them,” Verma said. 

The number of identified street vendors is drastically lower than the actual number of workers. Registrations across the country are even lower. It is estimated that hawkers make up 2-2.5 per cent of the population in each city, with experts estimating at least a crore individuals engaged in hawking.

Official numbers, however, capture only half the story with 50 lakh street vendors identified in 2023. The data points to an uneven distribution across states. Of identified hawkers, every second individual was from one of four states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana or Maharashtra. 

Given the size and population of the states, Telangana with 6.1 lakh vendors fairing higher than Gujarat (3.2 lakh), Tamil Nadu (3 lakh), and Karnataka (2.6 lakh), is unforseen. Chhattisgarh, with 1 lakh vendors, identifying more vendors than Odisha (80,000) and Jharkhand (71,000) is also unexpected. But, the most astonishing has been West Bengal. Despite the bustling city of Kolkata, it has only identified 3,298 hawkers.

Without a latest census, it can't be said what the latest numbers are, but regardless, they point to the dire need to fasttrack the process of identification and registration to safeguard livelihoods.

Central to effective policy execution is the establishment of proper vending zones. These areas should not be randomly designated but must include essential amenities like stalls, clean water facilities, and toilets. If you think about it, it’s the bare minimum for a workplace. There are a few success stories across the country, but it is still not the norm. 

Lastly, some experts underscore financial mismanagement in urban planning, citing instances where funds intended for urban livelihoods were diverted to beautification projects rather than supporting vendors.

Municipal Corporations are supposed to conduct a survey of hawkers every five years, but this has not been done in most cities. There is a need for more data collection on which cities are flouting the legislation. 

Reimagining urban spaces requires robust reforms to secure street vendors' livelihoods amidst weather challenges and policy inconsistencies.