The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) which has a scripted history for its extensive delay in completing the mandated survey of hawkers operating in the twin-city, landed into another controversy over massive anomalies in the data compiled and recently submitted by a private agency.
As per statistics, a total of 7,645 people had initially submitted their registration forms for enrollment as authorized hawkers. After weeding out invalid entries, the number was reduced to 7,221 out of which 3,159 turned out to be outsiders.
Out of the remaining 4,062 local hawkers, only 600 have submitted the mandated domicile certificates along with their applications. After a nod from the town vending committee (TVC) in March-2021, the list of 7,221 hawkers was uploaded on MBMC’s web portal.
However, in a shocking revelation made by ruling party corporator- Dhruv Kishore Patil (BJP) in the online general body meeting, scores of bogus people from different walks of life had been enrolled as hawkers in the survey.
“After getting the list, I randomly called up some of the listed numbers and found people who identified themselves as- security guard, salesperson in a garment store and even a bank staffer. This clearly reveals that the survey is nothing but a farce which needs cross-verification of each and every applicant,” said Patil. “Yes, scores of complaints have been received challenging the authenticity of the hawker survey.
I will soon call a meeting of all-party group leaders to discuss the issue. It is important that names of bogus applicants are weeded out from the list and ensure that only genuine hawkers are the actual beneficiaries.” said Mayor- Jyotsna Hasnale.
Even multiple people from a single family were listed as hawkers for different locations. All surveyed street vendors, who clear the scrutiny process, have to be accommodated in the designated vending zones subject to a norm conforming to 2.5 per cent of the population of the ward.
