Rural Street Vendors will also be linked to Urban Street Vendors Scheme: CM Chouhan
Bhopal : The Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that rural street vendors will also be linked to Urban Street Vendors Scheme. They will also be provided Rs. 10 thousand from banks on state government’s guarantee to enable them to restart their business. Realizing the pain of urban street vendors, the Pradhan Mantri Atma-Nirbhar Swanidhi has been announced to provide working capital to enable them to start their business. The interest subsidy will be given by the Central and State government. The Chief Minister reiterated that rural street vendors will also be included in the scheme.
It may be mentioned that the registration process was started on the Urban Unorganized Workers Portal by introducing the urban street vendor scheme first in Madhya Pradesh. So far, over 85 lakh street vendors have been registered on the portal. Documents of the registered street vendors are being scrutinized. A target of loan over Rs. One thousand crore has been set in Madhya Pradesh. This scheme will be launched in all 378 urban bodies. Such street vendors will be included in the scheme, who were working as street vendors in urban areas before March 24, 2020. The benefit of the scheme will be given on possession of town vending certificate of urban body and identity card. Those street vendors who have left their places due to the corona pandemic will also be entitled for benefit under the scheme on their return.
The Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has inaugurated the Chief Minister Urban Urorganized Workers Integrated Portal and got the registration process started in the month of June itself. A state level committee was constituted at the Urban Development and Housing Department for the implementation of the scheme. In the meeting of the State-level Bankers Committee held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, the process of bank-wise target setting and implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Atma-Nirbhar Swanidhi scheme for street vendors has been ensured. Among the street vendors, who have registered themselves in the scheme, include about 28.36 vegetable sellers, 10.27 percent garments, 7.23 percent fruits and 6.84 percent food items and beverages sellers. Sixty two percent male and 38 percent female constitute the total registered street vendors.
The Chief Minister Shri Chouhan has said that the officers concerned should ensure that the eligible street vendors do not have to visit from one office to another to avail the benefit of the scheme. He said that realizing the pain of street vendors, necessary arrangements should be ensured to help them in restarting their businesses.
The Chief Minister Shri Chouhan further said that a decision has also been taken to start Deendayal Antodaya Yojana Rashtriya Shahri Ajivika Mission in all 378 urban bodies in order to provide opportunities to women of urban areas for establishing self-employment through self-help groups. At present this scheme is operational in only 120 urban bodies. The Chief Minister stated that this mission will provide means of livelihood to urban poor by undertaking activities like capacity building, self-employment training, skill development training, and social security and institutional development. Under the mission, shelter for homeless and hawkers’ corners for street vendors will also be developed. Subsidy and loan will be made available to self-help groups under the scheme. Arrangement for marketing of items produced by them will also be made by the government.