Mumbai: Old challans, penalty receipts help street vendors secure BMC QR IDs

For decades police challans BMC penalty receipts and confiscation records were the ldquodaagrdquo Mumbais street vendors wanted to erase Today in a twist worthy of the old ldquoDaag Achhe Hainrdquo slogan those very stains have become badges of legitimacyAs the BMC rolls out QR codebased identity cards under the Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act 2014 old enforcement records are helping thousands prove they have been earning their livelihood on the citys streets for years Documents once used to penalise vendors are now among the strongest pieces of evidence supporting their claimOld police challans and BMC penalty receipts submitted by vendors during the verification process PicsBy Special ArrangementThe exercise follows directions from Bombay High Court under which BMC has identified 99433 eligible vendors from 102426 applications Authorities are also examining the claims of around 29008 vendors who say they were vending before May 1 2014 but could not complete their applicationsThe move follows directions from the Bombay High Court which asked the civic body to complete the longpending verification exercise June 26 2026 marked the final deadline fixed by the court for the processWho gets QRJayshankar Singh General Secretary of Azad Hawkers Union and a member of the Mumbai City Street Vendors Committee said the verification follows the legal framework evolved from Supreme Court guidelines and the Street Vendors Act According to him priority has been given to vendors who had applied before May 1 2014 He also clarified that receiving a QR code does not automatically permit vending anywhere in the cityDecisions on the following are yet to be finalised through the Town Vending Committee Hawking zones Nonhawking zones Roadwise allocation Number of vendors permitted in each locationVoice of vendorsldquoThis is my identity nowrdquoLaukush Tiwari 51 who has operated a book stall on Old Nagardas Road in Andheri since 1995 said the QR card finally gives him official recognition after decades of uncertainty He submitted Aadhaar PAN domicile documents previous BMC and police penalty receipts along with municipal survey records during verificationldquoThird generation first official recognitionrdquoMohan Yadav 45 a vegetable vendor from SakinakaChandivli who operates on Nagardas Road said vending has been his familyrsquos livelihood for three generations He credited years of legal intervention by the Azad Hawkers Union for making the identity cards possible However he said he was fined by police on Thursday despite showing his newly issued QR code cardldquoThird generation first official recognitionrdquoldquoWaiting since 2001rdquo Kapil Yadav dabeliwala listed in the Limca Book of Records for preparing 80 dabelis in 10 minutes has run his stall on Nagardas Road since 1990 He said he had earlier received recognition during the Tata Yuva survey in 2000 but his licence was cancelled in 2001 ldquoThis business raised my familyrdquo he said adding that it paid for his childrenrsquos education and marriagesldquoYears of records finally matteredrdquoRamesh Gupta 47 who runs a pani puri stall near Teli Gali on AndheriKurla Road inherited the business from his father He submitted old BMC penalty receipts and police fine records during verification before receiving his QR code identity cardWhat the QR card does mdash and doesnrsquot doWhat it does Recognises an eligible street vendor Creates an official digital identity Records verified vending statusWhat it does not do Guarantee a vending spot Allow vending anywhere in Mumbai Override future hawking zone regulationsWhy old fines suddenly matterDocuments considered during verification include Documentary proof of vending Previous BMC penalty receipts Records of seizure of goods Police challans Court appearances related to vending Any other record establishing longterm livelihood through street vending