Mumbai, April 30 (IANS). The issue of illegal hawkers has once again arisen in the politics of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (UBT) has fiercely targeted the state government through its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’. The party says that the strong rebuke of the Bombay High Court has completely exposed the failure of the government.
Regarding the Bombay High Court’s comment on the issue of unauthorized hawkers, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) has said that the court has removed the mask of political will of the people in power.
The party said in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ that the question is that those whose political will is determined only by power and the money it brings and whose strength is awakened only against political opponents, will they feel ashamed by this judicial revelation?
The editorial said that the Bombay High Court has strongly reprimanded the Maharashtra government over the growing problem of unauthorized hawkers and termed it as a lack of political will on the part of the government. The court said officials should be ashamed of their ignorance of their own laws and rights. The remarks were made during the hearing of a case related to encroachment by unauthorized hawkers in Mumbai. The court said that this problem has now become a serious problem for the citizens in all the big and small cities of the state.
The editorial said that the hawkers, their encroachment and the trouble they are causing to the citizens as well as the apathy of the administration and leaders have become a serious problem not only in Mumbai but in the entire state.
According to the article, the people whose responsibility is to remove the hawkers and provide relief to the pedestrians are silent. While laws actually exist and the government has the power to take action, these powers are not used.
The court has pointed to an ongoing cycle in which the state government, the municipal corporation and the police keep shifting the responsibility on each other. This corrupt triangle was cited as the main reason for the failure to clear the footpaths.
The article accused the administration of occasionally taking cosmetic action, but soon the situation returned to normal. This is because if the legal powers are actually used then the interests associated with those in power will be harmed and their nexus will be broken. That is why, despite repeated rebuke from the court, the government is deliberately maintaining silence on the issue of hawkers.
The editorial also said that the government told the court that it would take seven months to form ‘vending committees’ for authorized hawkers, and another month for its implementation. Shiv Sena (UBT) has made a sharp comment on this also.
The party raised the question whether this government, which is busy with power, money and targeting political opponents, will do any introspection even after this public rebuke? According to ‘Saamana’, the court’s remarks show that the government’s negligence is not limited to the issue of hawkers, but also reflects a broader failure of governance in the state.
–IANS
VKU/VC
