Chandigarh based lawyer & social policy researcher Nazm Dhawan in a statement isued to the press has called for a more humane and livelihood-centric approach to Chandigarh’s ongoing street vendor zoning exercise, urging authorities to balance urban planning with the constitutional right to livelihood.
Commenting on the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation’s implementation of the Supreme Court’s directions on street vendor zoning, Dhawan said that while orderly urban development is important, it should not come at the cost of displacing vulnerable vendors from locations where they can sustain themselves economically.
“The objective of regulating street vending should be to protect both the city’s functionality and the livelihoods of thousands of families. Merely relocating vendors to designated spaces without ensuring adequate pedestrian footfall is not meaningful rehabilitation,” Dhawan said in a statement.
Drawing a parallel with the rehabilitation debate surrounding the Narmada Dam project, Dhawan observed that displacement without viable alternatives has long remained a challenge in India’s development model.
“A vendor shifted away from a busy commercial area faces the same economic uncertainty as any displaced community deprived of its traditional source of livelihood. Development must not become synonymous with the structural exclusion of the poor,” she said.
Referring to her academic exposure during her Master of Social Work (MSW) in Australia, Dhawan noted that cities such as Melbourne and Sydney integrate street vendors into urban planning through participatory mechanisms rather than treating them as encroachments.
“Global cities recognise that street vendors contribute to the vibrancy of urban life. Instead of pushing them to the margins, authorities should adopt flexible licensing, designated vending spaces with natural customer access, and better civic infrastructure,” she said.
Dhawan urged Chandigarh’s Town Vending Committees to move beyond what she termed “mechanical displacement” and focus on creating vending zones equipped with shaded stalls, clean drinking water, waste management facilities, sanitation, and locations that provide genuine commercial opportunities.
“Development is sustainable only when it safeguards the dignity and livelihood of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Urban aesthetics and economic justice must advance together, not at the expense of one another,” Dhawan added.