The success of NULM lies mainly in its implementation; the early it is implemented by the authorities the better it will serve the street vendors. Though the state governments have started working on the implementation of the act and NULM but the process is still very slow. The municipal authorities lack the will to work. At the moment some state governments have started issuing tenders under NULM in order to get the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014 implemented in various municipal corporation areas.
But it is needless to say that this process is processing very sluggishly. For Example In Rajasthan & Jharkhand the state government invited tender from the eligible organizations and give a last date to apply for the bid, but when the last date approached most of the tenders were cancelled by the municipal authorities , the authorities issue circular that due to administrative reason the bid is cancelled they do not even provide a valid reason for cancellation of the tender. NASVI has taken up the effort of getting the act implemented and to channelize the benefits of NULM to street vendors. In this process NASVI has started placing bids to state governments under NULM. In some places we are still waiting for the result of the bid opening and in some places the bids are cancelled or postponed to another date.
NASVI has already secured a bid in 2014 from the Government of Bihar in order to implement the street Vendors act in 42 districts of Bihar. NASVI has started the work under State Programme for Urban Reforms in Bihar as a part of the implementation of NULM and the implementation of the provisions of The Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending )Act 2014. The Bihar Government has taken action very swiftly on the implementation of the act and has one of the first state governments to give work orders for the implementation of the act. NASVI is working very closely with the Municipal Corporations in 42 different districts of Bihar, in almost every district the process of constituting a Town Vending Committee has started. Till date around 30000 street vendors across Bihar state have been surveyed.
Though working for Bihar is a success story for NASVI and the same model can be replicated across the country, The concern of NASVI is that whichever agency works in getting the street vendors registered and mapped under NULM it must have an empathetic and honest attitude in working for the street vendors.
Looking at the sluggish working speed of various Municipal Corporations and the attitude of Municipal Authorities towards being a Non Government Organization and not a Private Limited company, it is very difficult that the street vendors will be able to avail the benefits of street vendors act in the near future.
Even though if the work of getting the street vendors biometric registration for NULM and street vendors act starts soon , it is very important to map the entire population of street vendors in vendor markets in the survey with utmost honesty. As street vendors are a very highly informal section and mostly are migrants, there are huge chances that when the registration survey is done the majority of them get covered in it.
Though NULM can be regarded as a boon to the street vendors but its efficacy depends on how efficiently and honestly the municipal corporations and the organizations which are chosen by the municipal corporations for carrying out the survey and issuing identity cards to street vendors work towards the implementation of NULM. But if corruption, unwillingness of Municipal Corporations to work and middlemen enter this process, then it can prove to be a real nightmare for the entire working population of street vendors in the country. The main success of NULM lies on how the municipal corporation of the concerned area is trying to work in order to implement it.
