The share of women who are earning through work continues to remain shockingly low in India according to the latest data from the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2021-22 released last month. The report, compiled by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the ministry of statistics, also provides a glimpse of the unconscionable gap between the earnings of men and women.

Low Participation in Work

In rural areas, about 57% of men are in the labour force but only 27% of women. In urban areas, the situation is worse – men’s participation in the labour force is 58% while women’s is down to just 19%. Overall, this gives an average of 57% labour force participation for men and 25% for women. (See chart below) Labour force participation is the proportion of persons that are either employed or unemployed but seeking work.

Women’s labour force participation has broadly declined in the past three decades. Seen in the larger context of persistent unemployment and very minor growth of jobs generally, this speaks of a systemic obstacle to employment growth that successive governments and their economic policies have failed to address. With the new political attention on women as voters, it is strange that one of the key deprivations that women face – lack of job opportunities – remains a neglected policy area. But then, employment itself has become a neglected area, especially under the present government.

Agriculture is Mainstay for Women, and also Services

The PLFS 2021-22 report also gives an estimated distribution of men and women workers across different types of employment. In rural areas, obviously, agriculture is by far the main source of employment with 51% of men and a whopping 76% of women involved in it. For women, this is the biggest source of gainful employment dwarfing any other work. Among men, construction (17%), trade and hotels (11%), and manufacturing (8%) are some of the other sources of jobs in rural areas. But for women, apart from agriculture, only manufacturing (8%) and construction (6%) are of any significance.

In urban areas, since there is no significant farming work, women’s employment drops precipitously. Among those who do find work, the biggest chunk of nearly 41% is employed in various personal services, administration, education, healthcare, etc. These are women who are working as teachers, healthcare workers, domestic servants (maids, cooks, etc) and such other jobs. The manufacturing sector employs about 24% women in urban areas, mostly in certain industries like textile/garments. Trade and hotels/restaurants employ about 15% of the women and construction about 5%.

What these proportions show is that whether it is rural or urban areas, women are concentrated more in lower-paying, perhaps contractual-type jobs, often in the informal sector. It must be underlined that the PLFS numbers show up a remarkable fact: whether men or women, the manufacturing sector is employing not more than a quarter of the workforce. This indicates the paucity of the industrialised formal sector in the economy. On the other hand, agriculture still employs over half of men and three quarters of women in rural areas.

Wage/Earnings Gap

The other crucial information provided by PLFS 2021-22 is about the earnings of working people. Here the chasm between men and women is evident. This relegation of women to low-paying work or denial of equal pay for the same work is one of the factors that keeps women away from gainful employment – it is just not worthwhile for women to go out for work because of the miserable wages or earnings they get.

The chart below summarises wages earned by regular or salaried workers and casual workers, and also earnings of self-employed workers (like petty shop keepers, and sellers of labour like rickshaw pullers etc.). For regular workers, the gap between the wages of men and women is about 35% in rural areas and 21% in urban areas. For casual labourers, the chart shows daily wage rates projected to monthly rates for comparability, although in real life they get paid on daily basis with gaps in between. Here too the gap between men and women is large: about 33% in rural areas and 31% in urban areas. Mostly, their work would be the same, like carrying loads, digging etc.

In the self-employed category – which is the one with very large number of people working – the gap between men and women is very high. In rural areas, the difference between men’s and women’s earnings is as much as 58% while in urban areas it is 59%. In one month, a self-employed woman will earn only about Rs 5,000 in rural areas while her urban counterpart will get around Rs 7,600. This shows what the returns are for women running “enterprises” through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and similar other programmes. Pakoda–making can hardly sustain women!

Apart from patriarchal obstacles put up by families and social peers, and issues of security, low wages such as these revealed by the PLFS are also contributing to the low labour force participation rates among women. This is despite the fact that women are much more educated today than three decades ago and want to become equal productive citizens.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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Centre’s e-SHRAM portal registered over 8.57 crore registrations from people in the unorganised sector on November 21, 2021 since its launch on August 26. On Sunday, the Union Labour and Employment Ministry boasted of the registration of over eight crore unorganised sector workers, most of whom were engaged in agriculture and allied occupations. But the dismal enrollment from workers hailing from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes paints another picture.

Focusing on week-wise data on the increase in number of registrations on the portal over the previous 12 weeks, it said maximum increase of registrations were recorded between November 2 and November 8 when 1,15,66,985 registrations took place. This was followed by 86,83,881 registrations between October 12 and October 18. The highest number of completed registrations took place on October 28 with 20.12 lakh people applied for the social security and employment-based benefits.

However, another break-up of people on the portal showed that most of these 8,57,32,842 registrations were people from the general and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Informal workers from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 23.82 percent (1,18,27,533 workers) and 8.45 percent (41,98,057 workers) respectively.

Hurdles faced by SC/ST workers

Earlier, publications like Locked Out: Emergency Report on School Education and many others have indicated SC/ST communities’ struggles in accessing virtual forms of registration or access due to unavailability of smartphones or adequate data services.

For this reason, most workers have accessed the portal through the help of Common Service Centres (CSC). As per government data, around 80 percent registrations were done through CSCs followed by self-mode of registrations — 19.59 percent of workers. State Seva Kendras accounted for 90,005 or 0.1 percent of registrations.

Similarly, The Telegraph also reported that Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) workers in Durgapur district of West Bengal helped over 300 workers register on the website on Sunday. The state recorded the highest number of registrations – more than 2.02 crore workers. Other states with high registration are Uttar Pradesh (1.59 crore workers), Odisha (1.18 crore workers), Bihar (over 95 lakh workers) and Jharkhand (42 lakh workers).

Secoral and gender-wise break up

As always, maximum registrations were from the agriculture sector followed by construction, domestic and household workers, apparel and the tobacco industry. Meanwhile gender-wise data showed more female workers – 4.44 crore registrations or 51.82 percent. This busts the myth that earning a living is predominantly a man’s work in India, as clearly women are holding up more than half the sky! 

Shockingly, the portal is yet to add data about the transgender community, showcasing how this group of people are rarely given the respect they deserve even in terms of mere recognition of their gender while such important data is being collected nationwide.

Ministry pats itself on the back

“By November 20, out of the total registrations, 48.2 percent (4,06,86,429) were male workers and 51.8 percent (4,37,00,713) female workers. In the first week of registration, of the total workers getting registered, around 5 lakhs were males and about 2.7 lakh were females. This has increased to 3.8 crore registrations for males and 4.05 crore registrations for females in week 12. The registration for the ‘Others’ in terms of gender, at the e-SHRAM portal has been slow, with around 2,095 total registrations completed by November 20,” said the Ministry in a press release.

Lastly, officials also seemed optimistic about the number of unorganised sector workers providing bank account and nominee details. Such information can help people avail benefits from government schemes such as accident covers in case of death or disability or partial disability. By November 21 88.89 percent of registrations had provided nominee details while 87.44 registrations had provided bank details. What they fail to acknowledge is how many of the workers are denied this basic service because they keep moving from one place to another, as migrant workers living in shanty-towns alongside their latest project. Thus, devoid of a proper address, they remain grossly underserved by the banking sector.

Related:

Over 1 crore people register for jobs on eSHRAM portal!
India’s workforce demands fiscal support following the second wave of Covid-19!
92 percent of India’s workforce faces historic and unprecedented crisis: SWAN report
India’s dairy farmers face another harsh summer – but not because of the heat

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A petition in the Supreme Court has sought directions to Centre and States to formulate a scheme to compensate those who are economically weaker and engaged in unorganised sector for loss of livelihood. The petitioner is a graduate from IIT and IIM, also a practicing advocate and in his plea he has raised concerns about people in informal sectors who live on daily earnings and have lost all means of incomes due to the nationwide lockdown.

The petitioner recognises that states and UTs are already under financial stress managing the outbreak of COVID19 and hence “the Union of India be directed to provide to each of the states and union territories compensation for the loss of revenue caused to them as also the additional expenditure incurred by them due to Covid-19 including in respect of the recompense to the persons deprived of income during the lockdown”. The petitioner also seeks “operations of the provisions of Section 4 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2003 be stayed in the interim to ensure that the same is not a constraint on the Union is discharging its duty as guardian and protector of its citizens”.

Section 4 of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act deals with fiscal management principles, such as managing fiscal deficit, government debt, fiscal targets and so on.

The petitioner puts forth the plight of these informal sector workers by stating, “There are innumerable people who are dependent on daily work for earning with no concept of leave or pay when not working. These are not people who are either homeless or in penury but people bravely leading lives by sheer dint of their own effort and earning a livelihood by their work. Such people have not needed to depend on the freebies of the governments as they have proudly till date earned their incomes and met their needs therefrom.”

The petitioner, as an example to the court, identifies people in informal sector as construction workers many are persons who are self employed such as auto drivers, taxi drivers and railway porters and coolies and delivery persons working for e commerce companies and food delivery companies or even drivers engaged by Ola and Uber and freelance electricians and plumbers or even rag pickers; small road side businesses such as puncture shops and small electrical and electronic repair shops and others of such kind.

The petitioner also emphasizes that needs of such persons cannot be just grains and pulses event hey are covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Since these persons are prevented from doing their work during this lockdown, they are not responsible for loss of their livelihood and hence deserve to be compensated by the state which has imposed this lockdown for the larger good.

The petition also points out that “developed countries have offered income transfers given the nature of losses suffered by their citizens due to Covid-19. Given the marginal existence of the self employed and unorganised work force there is thus need to immediately formulate an income recompense scheme aimed at such persons who have lost livelihood due to the lockdown”.

Further, the petition relies on constitutional provisions and states that Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (right to freedom) and 21 (right to life) stand infringed due to this lockdown. The right to carry on trade and profession has been denied by executive fiat and persons who were self sufficient till 24.03.2020 on which day lock down was announced have been left in the lurch endangering the very right to life of such persons, says the petition.  

The petition prays for a direction to the Centre to formulate a scheme for compensating persons working in the unorganised sector including as self employed for loss of income caused by the lock down imposed to combat Covid-19 and ensure implementation of the same through the States and Union territories. Also, to direct the Centre to compensate all States and Union Territories 100% of the loss suffered by the States in their revenues due to lock down as also 100% of the increase in expenditures incurred by them due to Covid-19 including for the scheme.

Related:

Covid-19 lockdown impact: India’s unorganised sector faces an uncertain future

Be a lamp unto yourselves – the advice the migrant workers followed

Lay offs, salary cuts continue even as PM asks employers to be compassionate to employees

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In a bid to prevent Covid-19 from mushrooming and entering Phase III, the Prime Minister had declared a 21-day nationwide lockdown. However, while doing so, the Central government left out the most vulnerable out of its ambit; not announcing a readiness plan for the socio-economically marginalized sections to fight the pandemic.

State governments however, came forth to announce some relief and rehabilitation measures, but they too looked to be grossly inadequate given the population of the marginalized and their social conditions.

While most state governments have announced relief measures for construction workers and people with ration cards – financial allowance ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 in different states, apart from free essential pulses and foodgrains; it left out many from the informal sector like small / marginal farmers, agricultural workers, domestic workers, manual scavengers, salt and fish workers, workers in food and hospitality and in other service industries, workers in entertainment, etc. in the lurch, leaving them to their own resources to tide by such trying times.

Keeping this in mind, the Working People’s Charter Secretariat (WPC) has put forth a charter of demands to the Economic Response Task Force, helmed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging the government to create a Rs. 50,000 crore Emergency Workers’ Welfare Fund to complement the state government’s relief packages.

In its most important demands it has asked that the government provide one month free ration to all 230 million card holders under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and conduct an immediate cash transfer during the entire phase of ‘social distancing’ either equivalent to the minimum wage or any amount not less than Rs. 10,000.

The current average wage of a NREGA worker ranges from Rs. 170 to Rs. 290 per day in different states. This number is pitiably low. The WPC demands that the wage is hiked by 50% as an interim measure and all NREGS workers who have lost their jobs in light of the lockdown, must be accommodated in work regarding local food production, cleaning and other sanitation services, food delivery and transport, to create awareness about Covid-19 in other communities, to take care of children and elders in households, etc.

The WPC has asked that construction workers who possess the ‘construction worker welfare board card’, street vendors who possess a license for vending by the municipal institutions or other registrations, daily wage workers / migrant workers / waste pickers, auto rickshaw and tempo drivers / goods & carrier workers and slum residents be given either allowance equivalent to the minimum wage or not less than Rs. 10,000 per month to survive this time.

All those in the entertainment industry – production officials on a contract basis, light men, etc. be given an upfront payment of 30 episodes due to shoots of serials and episodes coming to a halt.

All of these workers and the homeless, apart from the cash, must be given safety gear as required.

The WPC has also demanded that midday meals and dry rations for children be provided at the doorstep, all price hikes on cooking cylinders be withdrawn, evening clinics with health infrastructure in migrant settlements be made available, free admission and treatment be given to suspected patients in worker areas and immediate measures be taken against price hikes and monopolization of essential items like food, masks, sanitizers, medical equipment, etc.

In view of forced evictions and provision of basic services, it has asked that forced evictions of all slum settlements be halted and homeless informal workers be given adequate shelter, water be provided for sanitization to contain the outbreak, working and middle-class groups’ utility bills be suspended for 2 months and power supply be continued, mortgage payments be frozen, safai karamcharis be given statutory employment (equal wages for equal work, EPFO, ESIC), fast track courts be formed to hear cases of domestic violence and other violence arising out of social distancing and isolation, an emergency helpline number be issued for women and child safety, provisions of loans to MSMEs and other businesses be made and special transport to migrant workers who wish to return to their source states be provided.

Compared to the above wholesome demands, this is what the state governments are currently providing –

In Uttar Pradesh, around 35 lakh labourers including vendors, rickshaw pullers and those who earn their livelihoods in local markets, were set to receive Rs. 1,000 each per month by the state government. Apart from this, 1.67 crore construction workers, Antyodaya and MGNREGA card holders and daily workers would be immediately supplied with a month’s food grains.

According to the World Bank, the population of the poor in Uttar Pradesh is around 6 crores. Hence, the current plan of the government to aid the marginalized is set to leave out at least 5 crore people from its fold.

In Telangana, it was announced that those with white ration cards (88 lakh) would be given Rs. 1,500 per family and 12 kg of rice.

In Delhi, the state government announced a financial assistance of Rs. 5,000 per month to each construction work who will be rendered unemployed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Kerala has announced a disbursal of Rs. 2,000 crore to families in need and a pension to those who don’t get it of Rs. 1,000 each. 10 kg of free rice would be given to families below and above the poverty line.

The Odisha government is providing rice, wheat and kerosene to 3.26 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA and 4.50 lakh beneficiaries of the State Food Security Scheme.

In Bihar, families who possess ration cards will get free ration and a Rs. 1,000 allowance per month.

In West Bengal, 7.85 crore in the state are set to get free rice and wheat for the next six months and daily wage earners under an assistance scheme called ‘Prochestha’ would be given a monthly grant of Rs. 1,000.  

Punjab is set to provide Rs. 3,000 to all registered 318,000 construction workers in the state, apart from allotting Rs. 20 crore for food, shelter and medicines to those in need.

What’s missing?

While some governments have deferred utility payments, none of them have suspended it. The Delhi government for example has said that people could come to night shelters there and avail dinner, but it fails to mention how it will match the capacity of 3,000 – 4,000 people who throng there when the capacity of accommodation is only for a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 400 people. Also, most of these shelters are for men, hence, once again, most destitute women appear to be inadvertently left out.

The measures provided by the state governments seem to only tackle the surface of the problem. They have made no mention of how they will make people in migrant settlements or other workers from the marginalized sections, aware of the dangers of Covid-19. Except for the state government of Kerala which is recording videos in the tribal languages to spread awareness among those communities, no other state has even mentioned such a measure.

How do the State governments plan on ensuring hygiene if they haven’t mentioned how essentials like soap and water to keep the virus at bay will reach rural areas and slums in rural areas? Given that the people may have to buy medicines and other essentials for their households, how is it possible for unemployed workers to tide by with Rs. 1,000 a month in this day and age? Also, the state governments have made no mention of disinfection activities in such areas. 

Speaking to Sabrang India, Shakeel, from the Basti Suraksha Manch says especially of the Delhi government, “If not cash, state government should at least provide three months ration to the poor. Women doing domestic work are left out of these provisions. How do women access shelters for food when out of the 216 shelters only 7 to 8 shelters are earmarked for women? They have enough in stock to provide for all. However, they don’t have the infrastructure to provide for all. In light of the looming hunger, they should involve non-state actors like trade unions, NGOs, gurudwaras etc. to improve disbursal of ration. Minimum wages in Delhi are Rs. 15,000, we’ve only asked for Rs. 10,000.”

In yesterday’s address to the nation, PM Modi announced a package of Rs. 15,000 crore for health professionals at the front lines and for the improvement of health infrastructure. However, there has been no plan announced for the over 36 crore people in the country who live in poverty and whose livelihoods will take a massive hit due to the Covid-19.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too seems to making indefinitely delays in announcing the economic aid package for the country. Will it hold anything for India’s poor to be saved during this crisis or will they end up becoming collateral damage amid the pandemic?

Related:

States announce relief measures; Centre still mum on economic aid for Covid-19

Compensate street vendors, waste pickers, daily wage workers and micro- businesses

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So many reports of joblessness and a slowing down economy, retrenchment in many industries and concerns by economists did not stir up the government as much as the comments from some corporate sector leaders, ending with the Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s comments that the “ongoing stress in financial stress is unprecedented in the last 70 years”. One can only hope that these leaders will start speaking early enough next time and do not wait until we hit the bottom.

But the Minister started the press conference, explaining through a graph, that India’s growth is way far ahead of rest of the world. Apart from the fallacy of comparing the 2.6% growth of a 20 trillion dollar economy and 7% growth of a 2.7 trillion economy, one wonders if the economy is so rosy and “comfortably positioned” why did the Minister hold a press conference in a panicky mode and announced slew of measures aiming to revive the economy.

The Minister repeated time and again that the government “respects and honours wealth creators”. Sounds good. But who are the wealth creators as identified by the Minister? The corporations. Nobody else.

What about the informal sector, whose back was broken by demonetisation, where this crumble began? The sector contributes over 54% to the GDP and employs over 80% of India’s workforce.

Or agriculture, which has the potential to revive the economy, which contributes 15% to the GDP and around 600 million people directly or indirectly dependent on farming. There was nothing in Minister’s kitty for the sector.

Instead, pinning hope only in the corporate sector, the Minister reassured the Ease of Doing Business measures to continue, including self-certification and faster environmental clearance to projects.

With tax concessions and sops to the corporate sector and super rich – like withdrawal of angel tax for start-ups, withdrawal of enhanced surcharge levied on short-term and long-term capital gains and additional liquidity in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) for sale of houses, vehicles and consumption goods (which is otherwise stagnant now) – the Minister expects a miracle from the sector to spin-out a magic to revive economy.

When the government is pushing so much for the corporate sector and its welfare, once cannot but recall the Oxfam inequality report released earlier this year. It said:

“Billionaire fortunes in India increased by 35 percent last year – Rs 2200 crore a day – while 13.6 crore Indians who make up the poorest 10 percent of the country continued to remain in debt since 2004.”

It also said:

“Last year, the wealth of top 1 percent in India increased by 39 percent whereas the wealth of bottom 50 percent increased at a dismal 3 percent. Getting the richest one percent in India to pay just 0.5 percent extra tax on their wealth could raise enough money to increase government spending on health by 50 percent.”

It takes a lot of insensitivity and miscalculation to believe that by helping the already wealthy 1%, some of them known to stack-up their profits in tax heavens, the economy can be revived and there is not even a pretention that the government is concerned about the “bottom 50%”.
 

Comical: The Minister thinks auto industry can be revived by lifting government ban to buy vehicles for its departments

Interestingly, after her predecessor claiming to crack a whip on tax evaders, probably because of the criticism her government received after the suicide of Siddhartha of Café Coffee Day, the Minister was singing a different tone, pacifying tax evaders. Any life lost is tragic, but one cannot forget that despite over 120 people dying because of demonetisation, there wasn’t even a whimper from the government, but a complete denial of it.

It’s a bit comical that the prescription the Minister had to boost demand and by which to revive the auto industry was to lift the government ban to buy vehicles for their departments. Seriously? If that’s a solution, maybe increasing consumption of vegetables by government officials may help the agriculture sector, more meat dishes may help meat industry and a glass of extra milk per day will help the dairy sector!

The banks are assured of a capital infusion to a tune of Rs. 5 lakh crore, which “will benefit all corporates, retail borrowers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders” as the Minister said. The Minister was silent on the whopping Rs 10 lakh crore non-performing assets (NPAs) accumulated the past nearly 8-10 years because of excessive and unbridled lending.

Over 70% of the NPAs are caused by corporations and top 12 corporate NPAs cost exchequer twice as much as farm loan waivers. Without any measures to check the slide of NPAs, pouring in more money into banks to augment the lending will only deepen the pit where we are already.
Besides, there was nothing in what the Minister said, indicating recovery of bad loans from defaulters. By ensuring more lending and no commitment to recover bad loans, the Minister was sending a wrong signal, which will further choke the banking sector, and compelling to pump in more public money to help them survive.

Minister, the diagnosis of what is ailing the economy was wrong and hence it was the wrong steroids you injected on August 23.

Courtesy: Counter View

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Vendors fighting for vending space in Beltola market

The National Policy on Urban Street Vendors, 2009 (see box 1) has estimated that street vendors constitute 2 per cent of the population in various cities. Though street vending plays a vital role in providing livelihood to a large underprivileged section of the society, its contribution has not been accepted by city authorities or urban planning agencies so far. Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India provides all citizens the right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. At the same time, different sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Police Act empower the executive to remove any obstruction on streets.

Also, Municipal Acts empower municipalities to remove encroachments on roads as obstructions. Lastly, vending on streets and open spaces is not considered a legal use in the city’s Master Plan or Local Area Plan as it does not conform to the land use provision in such plans. For city administrators, any land use in violation of the statutory plan demands eviction.

Together, multiple laws work towards evicting street vendors from urban space, thereby making them vulnerable to bribery and extortion by local government officials, police and mafia (who act as protectors) as a price to stay put. Realizing this, the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, provides for reservation of 2 per cent of the city’s lands for vendors in a way that the ‘natural markets’ (markets that are naturally formed where there is demand), are protected. In addition, if any eviction is required, alternate space must be allocated to these vendors. In essence, the Act provides for allocating physical space to vendors in the city to protect their livelihood and provide city dwellers with easy access to goods and services offered by the vendors.
Guwahati has occupied a position of eminence as a trade and commerce centre for North-East India because of National Highway-37 and North-Frontier Railway based connectivity with the rest of the country. Additionally, River Brahmaputra is also used for transporting goods and people. This explains the existence of informal markets like Fancy Bazar, Machkowa and Uzan Bazar (Map on next page) along the mighty river.

“Poverty, Inequality and Violence in Indian Cities: Towards Inclusive Policies and Planning,” a three-year research project (2012-16) undertaken by Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University in Ahmedabad and Guwahati, and Institute for Human Development in Delhi and Patna, is funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada and Department of International Development (DFID), UK, under the global programme Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC). The research analyses the pathways through which exclusionary urban planning and governance leads to different types of violence on the poor and by the poor in Indian cities.

The CUE research takes an expansive approach to violence, examining structural or indirect violence (material deprivation, inequality, exclusion), direct violence (direct infliction of physical or psychological harm), overt conflict and its links to violence and different types of crime, noting that not all types of violence are considered as crime (for example, violence by the state), and not all types of crimes are considered as violence (for example, theft).

In Guwahati, the largest city in and gateway to the Northeast India, the research has focused on two hills, two street vendors’ markets and women’s safety in transport. Two markets, Ulubari and Beltola, have been studied. The partial withdrawal of the State from governance of these market spaces presents conditions for deprivations and conflicts among street vendors.

One of the oldest markets in the city is Kacharighat market where farmers (who came by boats and bullock carts), small traders and informal vendors sold grains, vegetables and poultry. Indigenous women (mainly from the Garo community) travelled all the way from neighbouring villages to sell hill produce and local vegetables in Kachari Basti market in Ulubari before leaving for home in the evening. As the city grew, especially after shifting of the state capital to Dispur, the demand for perishable farm produce continued to rise.

Improved transport connectivity made Guwahati an attractive market to people who now travelled (between 20 to 200 km) from settlements in Naogaon, Barpeta, Kharuptia and Rangia with their produce to markets in the city. Vending became an occupation not only for the poor in the city but also for farmers from the neighbouring countryside and districts.

TYPES OF MARKETS IN GUWAHATI
Guwahati has three major kinds of informal markets namely, a) GMC (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) rent markets, b) Daily markets, and c) Bi-weekly markets. In markets rented out by GMC, the shopkeepers pay a monthly rent to the local body directly. In the other two types of markets, GMC collects taxes through an annual lease under the provisions of the GMC (Lease of Parking Places and Markets) Bye-Laws, 2009. The lessee is identified on the basis of an annual bid where the successful bidder pays 30 per cent of the bid amount within 24 hours after the written offer is issued. The remaining 70 per cent has to be paid in nine equal instalments.

In order to maximize profit, the lessee employs people to recover as much money as they can from the vendors selling their wares in that particular market. Owing to the lack of any fixed rents or regulation, conditions favourable for exploitation are created, which then has potential to create conflicts between the lessees and the vendors.

Additionally, there are markets on roadsides, community lands or public land that are managed by Unnayan Samitis (Lakhra), youth clubs (Garchuk) and influential individuals (along the highway in Garchuk). The Unnayan Samitis pay taxes to GMC and recover charges (as high as INR 20 to INR 50 daily) from the vendors. The rates are linked to the wares that are being sold. Usually, cloth and meat vendors are charged INR 50; Sunday market vendors are charged INR 100 and for permanent kiosks, the rates exclude electricity charges.

Unnayan Samitis provide lighting, undertake cleaning and development works using the charges collected from the vendors. Youth clubs collect charges but some of them (for example in Garchuk), reportedly do not pay anything to GMC. The Indian Railways has also given land on lease to vendors in Bamunimaidan where it collects INR 5 per day from each vendor. Other markets along the roadside in Guwahati report payment of INR 20 per day to the GMC appointed tax collectors as scavenging tax. Sometimes, tax collectors would demand INR 10 (instead of INR 20) without offering any receipt to the vendors.

This then means that the vendors have to bear the costs of loss of business. A participant said:
“Two years ago, my son was beaten by one passenger when we were trying to get into the train with our vegetable bags against their advice. We tolerated this brutal act [of the passenger] and didn’t say anything.

“This is our livelihood and hence we have to go by train. We do not have any other work to do. We are doing this work due to extreme poverty and have only this option for our survival.”
Passengers often complained to Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel about the vendors. The RPF/GPF personnel in turn, harass the vendors, collecting bribes of INR 20-30 from each vendor per trip. Sometimes, they get into physical conflicts with the vendors. Owing to the lack of proper transport options, vendors bear additional economic, emotional and physical losses while transporting their wares from their settlement to the market.

When vendors are unable to sell their entire stock in a day or missed the last train back home, they are forced to stay back in the city at night. Owing to the absence of night shelters and storage spaces, they spend the night at the railway station. Participants reported that they ended up losing their money and goods to thieves while asleep on the railway platform. Thus, not only did they feel unsafe in the city at night but there were also economic costs of unwillingly spending the night in the city. Women vendors also feared sexual harassment in addition to other problems reported by male vendors while sleeping on the railway platform.

“One day, a RPF cop demanded INR 100 from me. When I couldn’t give money, the cop kept one bag of vegetables with him and asked me to load the remaining bags inside the train. I was furious and shouted at him. He did not return my bag. I lost my patience and caught his shoulder; his badge came into my hand. He was scared and returned my bag of vegetables.”

Space crises
Conflicts due to lack of space: Earlier vendors cooperated with each other to adjust space for displaying each other’s wares, however congestion in the markets has led to vending space-based conflicts. For example, most women vendors in the Beltola market occupy a space whose area fell between 6 to 12 square feet per stall, while most men vendors occupy more than 35 square feet space per stall. This causes great tension between female and male vendors with the former feeling unhappy about the capture of the limited vending space by the latter. This often results in verbal fights. When matters go out of hand, women reportedly throw away their male counterparts’ vegetables to stake and reinforce their claim on the vending space.

“In case, someone occupies my space, I scold and fight with him to take my place. And if that doesn’t work, I throw away his vegetables.”
Conflicts aggravated in this market because the GMC converted one of its municipal grounds used for vending into a multi-storey building which led to a loss of vending space for male vendors. These vendors were not formally relocated, and squeezed themselves into nearby markets where women vendors operate. This imposed high economic costs on the vendors who had to pay tax not only to the lessee but also to the earlier occupant of the vending space (as high as INR 100-200 per day). Some were forced to sell their livestock back home to deal with loss of business owing to space crunch. There are other conflicts between vendors on space, which are played out on lines of gender, ethnicity and length of association with the market.

Conflicts are also reported between tribal vendors and migrant Muslim vendors. The tribals raise issues of ethnicity to stake their claim on vending space. Similarly, Garo vendors come seasonally to the Ulubari market but enjoy higher claims on the vending space and invariably get into verbal conflicts with regular vendors.

“We have been vending here since inception of this market; you people should leave space for us on market days.”  
The local Unnayan Samiti opined against the claims of the Garo vendors arguing that since the latter were not regular in coming to the market they cannot stake claim to the space in the market. The regular vendors did not usually protest, but instances have been reported where conflicts quickly escalate into physical fights with vendors throwing vegetables away from the vending space. Overall, the management of vending space by lessees and vendors committees is found to be informal and ad-hoc, with no responsibility being taken by these actors to resolve conflicts between vendors. Vendors are forced to spill over and occupy spaces on nearby footpaths. They also pay heavy economic costs in terms of loss of vegetables and loss of opportunities for selling their wares.

Lack of storage space: Vendors face problems in storing their unsold goods, weighing instruments and plastic sheets that provide them protection from the elements. Around 72 per cent and 47 per cent vendors in Beltola market and Ulubari market respectively were unable to store their wares. They often sell their remaining goods, mainly vegetables, at throwaway prices by the end of the day, thereby incurring losses. Many vendors rent rooms near the market for living as well as for storing their wares. Around 17 per cent Ulubari market women vendors use storage spaces rented by the local women vendors’ committee while 27 per cent vendors stored their wares behind their vending spaces. The lack of storage spaces impose economic costs on the vendors.

Mitigating conflicts over space: However, there were also mechanisms to mitigate possibilities of conflict over space. In Beltola market, few residents and shopkeepers rented out their front yard to vendors who paid the former rent on a monthly/ weekly basis. These residents/ shopkeepers become custodians of the space rented out to vendors in the latter’s absence for short periods of time. Similarly, when a vendor who sold her/his wares on the main road is unable to come for many days, neighbours take care of that space. They allow new vendors to occupy the above mentioned space temporarily, but not after the arrival of their absent neighbour. Informal relations, acquaintance and camaraderie governed the local management of vending space in this case.

In Ulubari, the earliest vendors had merely occupied different portions of the available space. Later, as the number of vendors rose and a women vendors’ committee (Unnayan Samiti) was formed, spaces were earmarked by the committee for women vendors (especially tribals) coming from different areas. It was reported that women vendors coming from Bornihat and Sonapur enjoyed the first right over vending space followed by those coming from Barpeta Road. Muslim male vendors were the last ones in the pecking order. Thus, the space management in Ulubari is slightly more formalized than Beltola.

Vendors braving the rains in Guwahati

Deprivations as structural violence
No protection against natural elements: Our FGDs revealed that lack of protection from the elements was a major concern for street vendors. Since they were poor, they had no option but to continue selling their wares under the sun. This led to health problems like headaches that ate further into their already meagre earnings. Owing to the lack of protection from the elements, street vendors lost business on days when conditions were not favourable, especially during monsoons and summer.

“Last Sunday, I had a severe headache and pain in my waist. Hence, I gave all my vegetables to another vendor and went back to home.”
 

Box 1: Highlights of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014
i) The Act aims to protect the livelihood rights of street vendors as well as regulate street vending through demarcation of vending zones, conditions for and restrictions on street vending.
ii) A Town Vending Committee (TVC) to be formed for every town. Any person intending to undertake street vending needs to register with the TVC. He/ she may then apply for a vending certificate that will be issued based on various criteria.
iii) The TVC comprises of the municipal commissioner, representatives of street vendors, local authority, planning authority, local police, resident welfare association and other traders associations.
iv) The state government to frame a scheme for street vendors. The local authority, in consultation with the planning authority, to frame a street vending plan once every five years.
v) Natural markets (those that have come up naturally on account of demand) not to be disturbed while framing street vending plans.
vi) No eviction of vendors to be undertaken without relocation.
vii) The Act recommends the reservation of 2 per cent land for vending as part of master plans and local area plans
 

Deprivation due to absence of basic services: The absence of public toilets, potable water and storage spaces are considered as major concerns of vendors. The lack of these facilities affect women vendors more than their male counterparts who chose to relieve themselves nearby. Women vendors from Sonapur reported that since no toilets are available at the markets, they go to neighbouring houses for relieving themselves. Sometimes, the nearby house owners make uncharitable remarks on them. Also, going to neighbouring areas takes time and they have to leave their wares unattended or in the care of neighbours, often resulting in thefts.

“If I consume more water, I need to go to urinate frequently, thus I take less water as far as possible.”
Women therefore avoid drinking required amounts of water to reduce frequency of urination, resulting in health problems such as urinary tract infections in the long term.

In Beltola market, a large proportion of the participants reported using road-side space (28 per cent) and nearby houses (28 per cent) for relieving themselves at the cost of hygiene and dignity. Similar concerns were echoed in Ulubari where the local women vendors’ committee had rented a toilet but access was controlled through a lock whose keys were not accessible to all. As many as 47 per cent of the women vendors used this toilet whenever it was open. Otherwise, they depended on their friends’ homes in the neighbourhood. A three-seater toilet rented by sSTEP, an NGO, was considered inadequate considering the volume of vendors that sell their wares at the market.

“In case, we feel an acute need to visit the toilet, we go to the drain. At that time, we do not think about our self-prestige and dignity. I mean, if men would see us relieving ourselves…”
Deprivation due to lack of potable water: Another major concern stated by vendors was the unavailability of potable water. One-third of vendors in Beltola market purchased expensive packaged water for drinking purposes. Others brought water from their homes or got water from nearby hotels and temples for sprinkling on their vegetables to keep them fresh. In Ulubari market, close to half the vendors brought water from home for drinking and other purposes.

Ad-hoc nature of tax collection by lessee resulting in conflicts
Although the tax rates to be collected by the lessee are fixed, many overcharge. In Beltola market, lessee charged the vendors more tax than that prescribed by GMC for its markets – more so during the interim period when lessee’s contract period lapses and fresh tenders are invited by GMC. Clause 22 of terms and conditions for settlement of the markets of GMC (2013) states that “the lessee shall collect toll at the prescribed rates only.” In case of complaints against demanding excess tax, either by the lessee or by their agents or employees, “the lessee shall be liable to be prosecuted U/S 384 of IPC and lease shall be terminated forthwith.”

Clause 35 of the terms and conditions states that “the lessee shall display a signboard of the approved rates of toll at a prominent place in the markets at their own cost.” Our survey revealed that while GMC does not allow collection of more than INR 70 per vendor per day, the lessee collected up to INR 300 per vendor per day. Vendors reported that the lessee’s tax is not only high but it also varied temporally and from one vendor to another.

For the first few months of a lessee’s tenure, the vendors paid INR 100 which gradually increased to INR 300 by the end of the year. The lessee also collected INR 200 from each truck at night as parking fee in violation of the terms prescribed by GMC. The vendors strongly resented the lease system due to high economic costs, however the vendors did not challenge the lessee as he evokes fear of bodily harm and fear of loss of vending space in the market.

Extortion by local youth clubs and goons
The vendors get harassed by local goons for money when they went to the market at night with their goods. The vendors were not able to defend themselves against the goons as they feared for their safety. They perceived the policemen to be in nexus with the goons.

“Once, we reached Beltola market at 2 am and were unloading our goods from the truck. Some drunken local goons asked for INR 1,000. When we refused to pay, they beat us. Only police can help us in this kind of situation. In Beltola market, lessee and local goons beat us, no one comes forward to rescue us.”

Besides local goons, different groups of local boys also harassed them by asking huge amounts from INR 500 to INR 1,000 for celebrating Bihu, Durga Puja and other local festivals.

“For any festival, chanda can be given once but in Beltola market, every market day local boys collect chanda. On the first market day, local youths take INR 600, then on second market day INR 200 and then INR 300 on third market day and so on.”

These kinds of extortion have a huge impact on the already meagre incomes of the vendors.

VENDORS’ RECOMMENDATIONS:
# Beltola market vendors suggested that GMC should not award tax collection through competitive bidding as it increased the bidding price by as much as three times when compared to the base price. The lessee then has to recover this money from vendors, ultimately increasing the tax burden on vendors.

# There was a need for greater vigilance by police. Since GMC collects huge taxes from the markets, police force must be deputed to maintain law and order in the markets, especially at night.
# To avoid conflicts between regular and irregular vendors in Ulubari market, participants suggested that vending space should be allotted to regular male and irregular tribal women vendors separately.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
The state’s withdrawal from governance of the markets has left the space open for exploitative private parties to conduct their business. GMC should ensure that its withdrawal from the markets must be accompanied by the creation of representative market management committees that can safeguard the interests of the vendors. At the same time, the GMC should also plan for vending spaces in the city.
# The development plan mechanism must identify and reserve spaces for local markets as recommended by the Street Vendors’ Act of 2014.
# GMC has completed street vendor surveys in Guwahati. The formation of street vending committees and zonal vending committees in all markets must be expedited.
# GMC must delineate a) free vending areas – where street vending is allowed without restrictions, b) restricted vending areas – areas where vending is permitted on specific days or time or by trade, and c) no-vending zones – streets having arterial/ heavy traffic. Vendors affected by the creation of no-vending zones must be accommodated in vending zones nearby through the use of measures like time-sharing that can be implemented using the TVC/ZVC mechanism.
# The process of issuing licenses to street vendors must be expedited. These licenses must include names of beneficiaries, name of the market, timings and charges to prevent harassment by various state and non-state actors.
# Street vending schemes must by virtue of their design exhibit sensitivity to the needs of the vendors and their customers, especially women, children and differently-abled.
# GMC must contribute towards building the capacities of vendors so that they can come together and form market management committees for their governance.
# GMC must help prevent exploitation of vendors by lessees, private plot owners and vendor committees. In lieu of a nominal tax collected from the managing body, the vendors and their customers must be given access to clean and safe markets.
# The state must ensure the safety and security of women vendors who feel threatened by their male counterparts and unwelcome owing to the lack of basic facilities like sanitation, storage and night shelters. Access to basic services such as shade, potable water, well-lit and clean toilets must be ensured. In addition, facilities like night shelters and storage spaces for vegetables and other belongings of vendors need to be provided.
—

*This is the fourth Policy Brief in the series prepared by the Research Team (Guwahati) of  the Centre for Urban Equity (CUE), CEPT University, Ahmedabad, on “Safe and Inclusive Cities – Poverty, Inequity and Violence in Indian Cities: Towards Inclusive Policies and Planning” . One of the researchers is from the Society for Social Transformation & Environment Protection (sSTEP)
Courtesy: CUE, CEPT University, Ahmedabad

Courtesy: counterview.org
 

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