Protect Street Vendors from Arbitrary Eviction and Loss of Livelihood

A street vendor may earn only a modest amount in a day.

But that daily income can pay for food, rent, school expenses, medicines and the basic needs of an entire family.

For many people, selling vegetables, fruit, tea, snacks, clothes or household items on the street is not a temporary activity. It is their livelihood.

Yet vendors can sometimes spend every working day uncertain about whether they will be allowed to remain in the same place.

A sudden removal drive can mean losing an entire day’s income.

When authorities take away or seize a vendor’s goods, the vendor may lose the money invested in that day’s stock.

Repeated displacement can make it impossible to build regular customers or plan for the future.

Cities need clean footpaths, safe roads and organised public spaces.

But managing public space should not mean treating every street vendor as a problem.

There should be a fair system.

We are asking municipal corporations and the concerned urban authorities in Maharashtra to ensure that street-vending rules are implemented transparently and consistently.

Vendors should be clearly informed about authorised vending zones, restricted areas, applicable timings and the process for obtaining necessary permissions or certificates.

Where relocation is necessary for genuine public-safety or infrastructure reasons, vendors should receive reasonable notice and, wherever possible, access to an appropriate alternative vending location.

Goods should not be taken away or seized without a fair reason and proper procedure.

When enforcement action is taken, there should be proper documentation and a clear process for recovering legally returnable goods.

Authorities should also work with Town Vending Committees and vendor representatives so that decisions affecting livelihoods are not made without considering the people whose incomes depend on street vending.

This petition is not asking that vendors be allowed to block roads, entrances or emergency access.

It is asking for fairness, predictability and dignity.

A person trying to earn an honest living should not begin every morning wondering whether everything they own for their small business will be taken away by the afternoon.

Street vendors are part of the everyday economy of our cities.

They provide affordable food and goods, create self-employment and serve millions of customers.

Urban development and livelihood protection should work together - not against each other.

Please sign this petition and support fair, transparent and humane treatment of street vendors across Maharashtra.