Background of Campaign

As India has become more urbanized, there is also been an increase in the number of people living in cities. The Latest NSSO Survey reports there are over 80 million people living in the cities and towns of India. For this reason, the cities are in a rush to provide modern infrastructure facilities, transport, housing, and ‘quality of life to all’. The concept of "World Class Cities" is also increasing all over the World and has made cities enter into competition with each other for capital investment, tourism, public funds and hosting events such as Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.

Obviously, such competition calls for improvements in infrastructure, transport, housing (no slums), employment, quality of life and so on but it leaves no hope for the lives of street vendors, street children, beggars and others. Admittedly, Street Vendors provide valuable service to the urban population while trying to earn a livelihood and it is the duty of the State to protect the right of this segment of population to earn a decent livelihood. Over the past few decades we can observe that there is a substantial increase in the number of hawkers in the major Indian cities. To protect the livelihood of street vendors from forced evictions during the preparation for hosting events, it is necessary to advocate that the "World Class Cities" should be created by treating the street vendors as a special component of the urban development/zoning plans and as an integral and legitimate part of the urban distribution system. The World Class Cities FOR ALL Campaign is expected to organize more street vendor’s organizations in India to struggle collectively to persuade the government to take policy initiatives which not only secure livelihood of more than a crore street vendors but it will also regulate street vendors, thereby creating better and beautiful world class cities in which we all long to live.

Objectives of the Campaign:

1. To sensitize the street vendors to organize themselves for better negotiation and collective bargaining with the Government to build the "World Class Cities for All".
2. To organize the mass meetings in Mega cities to draw the attention of government and public for the cause of the street vendors.
3. To meet the municipal authorities and submit memorandum to implement the National policy for urban street vendors-2009.
4. To pressurize and persuade the municipal authorities to make inclusive master plans with the participation of street vendors.
5. To submit a proposals for innovative model markets, women markets and weekly markets
6. To sensitize the public on the affordable services of Street vendors.
7. To call for the press meetings to rope the media for mass campaign.
8. To Produce and distribute the campaign posters/pamphlets to popularize the campaign among the street vendors and public.

Campaign Cities

Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore and Chennai are the Metropolitan cities chosen for the "World Class Cities for All" Campaign. The cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata(Calcutta),Bangalore and Chennai have large populations of street vendors and are situated in different parts of the country namely Delhi in Northern India, Mumbai in Western India, Calcutta in Eastern India ,Chennai and Bangalore in Southern India.