BMC QR-code drive uncovers 3,167 ‘ghost’ hawker licences | Mumbai News

“During this verification process, it was revealed that 3,167 vendors have died since the first survey was conducted,” a civic official said. The findings were placed before the BMC’s law committee last week, following which members suggested framing a policy to transfer the licences to the deceased vendors’ legal heirs.

“In many cases, the deceased vendors had not specified nominees who could inherit the licences. We have asked civic officials to formulate a standard operating procedure to identify and verify the immediate next of kin before transferring the licence,” Diksha Karkar, chairperson of the BMC’s law committee said.

So far, the BMC has issued around 48,000 QR code-enabled identity cards. Officials said the highest number of verifications has been carried out in Dadar, a major hawking hub, followed by Colaba and Churchgate in South Mumbai and Goregaon in the western suburbs. During the verification process, each hawker’s identity, survey number and vending location are cross-checked.

Officials said the QR code cards will enable the BMC and Mumbai Police to instantly verify whether a vendor is authorised, making it easier to identify and take action against illegal hawkers.

The exercise is also linked to the implementation of the city’s long-pending hawkers’ policy. Once the verification process is completed, the Town Vending Committee (TVC) will identify and allot designated vending pitches and hawking zones, a move aimed at regulating street-vending, while clearing encroachments from public spaces.

The 2014 survey, which identified 99,345 eligible hawkers, was conducted under the provisions of the Street Vendors Act to facilitate the formation of the TVC. Although a draft hawkers’ policy was prepared in 2020, its implementation was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the absence of an elected civic body after the BMC was superseded in 2022.

“The draft policy was prepared in 2020, but the pandemic delayed its implementation. Since the elected body was dissolved in 2022, the process remained stalled. We resume work on it only after corporators returned earlier this year,” a civic official said.