NDMC issues smart cards to regulate footpath vendors

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The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has started issuing smart cards to licensed street vendors in order to stop unauthorised hawker activities in areas under its jurisdiction and provide legal canopy to the registered hawkers.

The current number of licensed street vendors operating within the NDMC jurisdiction is 961, and a town vending committee has been formed by the civic body to conduct a survey for updating the rolls.

“The security features like ‘barcode’ and ‘RFID tag’ (an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking purposes) are embedded in the smart cards  to differentiate between authorised and unauthorised vendors,” a NDMC spokesperson said. “This will help genuine hawkers earn peacefully and supervisory staff manage and identify the legal squatters,” he added.

The legal squatters and hawkers have been asked to form Self Help Groups (SHG) streetwise, blockwise or as per the appropriate local conditions to regulate their own functioning and prevent unauthorized squatters. On the other hand, smartphones will be provided to field functionaries to read both barcodes and RFID tag.