Shillong, July 9: The Special Officer appointed by the Meghalaya High Court to oversee implementation of its orders related to hawkers issue will convene a joint meeting with the local and police authorities as well as the hawkers association on July 16.
This was informed by the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) PK Boro in a notice issued on Tuesday.
The proposed meeting is in pursuant to the order passed by the Meghalaya High Court on July 3, which has appointed the special officer to ensure the court orders are implemented without any breach of peace or commission of any offence, in consultation with the general secretary of hawkers association, local and police authorities, Boro stated.
On July 3, the Meghalaya High Court had intervened in the ongoing eviction drive of hawkers in the Khyndailad (Police Bazar) area, directing the local and police authorities to follow due process of law.
The hawkers’ association had moved an application alleging forced eviction without providing alternative vending space.
Senior Advocate Subhasis Chakrawarty was appointed as Special Officer to oversee the implementation of the court directions.
The court had directed the Special Officer to prepare a list of authorized and licensed vendors, stated to be around 349, in consultation with the Hawkers’ Association and local authorities.
The court had also directed that licensed vendors will be allowed to vend merchandise in the Police Bazar area for limited hours (12:30 pm to 2 pm and 7:30 pm to 9 pm), subject to their undertaking not to exceed the time limit and disrupt traffic flow or human movement. Unlicensed vendors will not be allowed to sell goods in the area.
