SELF EMPLOYED LABOUR ORGANISATION Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above noted two Public Interest Litigations have been instituted by two organizations, named Self Employed Labour Organisation (in short as 'SELO') and Self Employed Women's Association (in short as 'SEWA'), espousing a common cause of street vendors operating in the place referred to as "Bhadra Plaza", for effective implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the rules thereunder, and the Gujarat Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Scheme, 2018 framed under Sec. 38 of the Act.

(2.) Both the petitioners' organisations are registered Associations. The Writ Petition (PIL) No. 211 of 2014 has been filed, prior in point of time, by SELO (in the month of June/July, 2014), with the reliefs as under:-

(3.) It was the case of the petitioners therein that almost 506 street vendors had been carrying on their trade of selling goods and services of all kinds in and around three-gates in Bhadra Fort called as "the Bhadra Plaza Project" for a long period ranging from 45 to 50 years. The said market is a natural market well known in Ahmedabad city. These street vendors belong to all communities, such as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities. It is contended that Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (in short as 'AMC' or "Corporation') decided to develop the Bhadra area and a revitalization project of Bhadra Fort precincts of the Municipality under Heritage Development Mission Scheme under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Rural Mission (JNURM) was sanctioned with the name "Bhadra Plaza Project" by the Government of India on 22/1/2010, for its development as a National Heritage. However, even after introduction of the said Scheme, no proper steps had been taken for settlement of the street vendors of Bhadra area, who remained in the state of uncertainty and insecurity.