Fri Jan 03 11:23:01 UTC 2025: ## Bengaluru’s Street Vendor Survey Sparks Controversy Over Residency Requirements

**Bengaluru, January 3, 2025** – A street vendor survey conducted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has sparked controversy due to stringent residency requirements, leading to the exclusion of many migrant vendors. The survey, ongoing for the past three months, has enumerated only 27,575 vendors, a significant shortfall compared to the 1.42 lakh vendors who have availed loans under the central government’s PM Street Vendors’ Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi) Scheme.

The Karnataka Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood, Regulation of Street Vending and Licensing) Scheme, 2020, mandates a Karnataka ration card, voter ID, and Aadhaar card for enumeration. This requirement has disproportionately affected migrant vendors, many of whom lack local ration cards. Street vendor unions have criticized the rule as exclusionary, while the ruling Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) defends it as a measure against exploitative business practices.

Several vendors, including Sarita, a cobbler from Tamil Nadu, and Abhay Ranjan, a golgappa seller, have been denied enumeration due to their lack of local documentation. Even though the 2017 survey included Sarita, she faces exclusion this time.

While BBMP officials justify the requirement by citing the need to prevent multiple family members from receiving vending certificates using the Kutumba software, they acknowledge the low enumeration numbers and are exploring methods to verify out-of-state ration cards. They also plan to review the results with zonal town vending committees before finalizing the list.

Critics argue that the conditions violate the right to livelihood and free movement, pointing to the discrepancy between the number of vendors enumerated and those who received PMSVANidhi loans. They contend the policies are designed to exclude rather than include, citing similar restrictive measures in other schemes. Conversely, the KPCC’s street vendors’ cell defends the measures, stating they target exploitative practices by business owners who employ migrant workers at low wages. They suggest that genuine migrant vendors can transfer their ration cards to the state. The debate over the inclusion criteria continues as the BBMP prepares to conclude the survey this week.

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