The Bombay High Court while hearing a suo motu PIL on April 16 pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for not coming up with a viable solution to the illegal hawker issue, citing safety issues faced by pedestrians due to encroachment on footpaths. The division bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Kamal Khata also suggested various changes to the Street Vendors Act and stated that the BMC’s hawker licensing department was just another source of income for the civic body. The bench in a previous hearing on February 12 had taken cognisance of mid-day’s report ‘Hawkers flood Borivli 2 weeks after eviction’ asking the BMC to find a permanent solution to the hawker menace.

Justice Patel raised concerns for pedestrian safety stating, “It is a cascading effect. Illegal hawkers encroach on footpaths, which forces pedestrians to walk on carriageways. Motor cars have only one space to use. A pedestrian is in the middle of a carriageway where he risks collision with a vehicle.” Justice Khata said, “Since pedestrians are on the carriageways, the issue of traffic jams arises. this takes the whole system for a toss.”