NEW DELHI: Following the example set by the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, the Himachal Pradesh government issued orders on Wednesday mandating that all vendors display their names and identification on their shops.
The decision comes just five days after assembly speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania formed a seven-member committee on Friday, led by industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, to develop a policy for street vendors.
The committee’s formation followed a decision made by the House on September 10 to create a ‘Street Vendors Policy.’
Urban development minister vikramaditya Singh explained the reasoning behind the move: “We held a meeting with the urban development department and the municipal corporation. To ensure that hygienic food is sold, we have decided that all street vendors, particularly those selling food items, must display their names and IDs. This decision follows concerns expressed by the public, and we have chosen to implement a policy similar to the one in Uttar Pradesh, where such measures are mandatory.”
The directive also coincides with increasing demands for the mandatory registration of migrant workers, which gained momentum following a dispute over unauthorised mosques in the state.
The issue initially arose from a scuffle between a barber from the minority community and a local businessman in the Malyana area, a suburb of Shimla, on August 30.
The altercation escalated into a communal issue, with Hindu groups calling for the demolition of unauthorised mosques and the identification and verification of outsiders entering the state.
Last week, during a protest demanding the demolition of part of a mosque in the Sanjauli area of Shimla, ten people were injured. Protesters called for the identification and registration of migrant workers coming to work in Himachal Pradesh.
Additionally, there have been demands that licenses be issued only to local ‘tehbaazaris’ (street vendors) and that the criminal backgrounds of migrant workers be verified.
Protesters have claimed that there has been a surge in the number of street vendors and individuals from a particular minority community, and as a security measure, they are calling for the verification and mandatory registration of these individuals.
(With agency inputs)