The High Court of Meghalaya on Friday issued several directions to the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) on the presence of hawkers in Laitumkhrah, while pointing out that its report on the hawkers in the area does not project a good picture at all. A registered society named Seng Samla Laitumkhrah “leng Skhem Ha Ka Hok” had submitted an application, seeking the extension of the action on the street hawkers of Police Bazar to the Laitumkhrah area.
The court took cognisance of the application and directed the SMB to file a report on the number of street vending licenses issued in the Laitumkhrah area, with the names of the licensees. Accordingly, the SMB filed a report to the court. “The facts which emerge from this report do not project a good picture at all.
It appears that there is a large number of hawkers in the Laitumkhrah area. None of them possesses any certificate of vending or a vending licence,” the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh said.