On a recent visit to the pulsating heart of Kolkata’s restaurant row and hub of bakeries and coffee shops, Park Street, I was struck how the sidewalks had almost vanished, taken over by vendors and hawkers of anything and everything from socks to mobile phone covers to cheap sandals. Every major city in India repeats this scene. Over the years, the phenomenon is explosive. After all, per reports of 2024, 88% of India’s population is informally employed. Putting out a mat, a covering over your head and selling whatever is a way to eke out a daily meal.
After the recent legislative victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the emboldened BJP, the strongest national party in the country, via it’s chief minister, has started bulldozing ” illegal” structures and clearing sidewalks, railway stations, roads, and other areas of such independent entrepreneurs.
So suddenly, in Kolkata, I read that the largest flower market in India and possibly the world, Mullick Ghat Flower Market is in the bulldozers crosshairs.
And the crankshaft grinding bulldozers are sending ominous signals to College Street book shops, the largest second-hand book venue in Asia and India’s largest.
And then there’s “New Market”, which is not new at all, built in 1874 and housing thousands of shops, everything from cheese stores to peacocks. I’ll save my nostalgia for it for another day. The bulldozers are at work there too as the vendors are sprawled all around the building.
Before I ask my question about what next for the poor and vulnerable, let me provide the answer that the government issues:
“Portal for street vendors’ loan scheme launched.
Today we mark #6YearsofPMSVANidhi, a scheme which has transformed the lives of countless street vendors by ensuring access to collateral-free credit, financial inclusion and new opportunities for growth. This scheme is all about trust, dignity and empowerment. My best wishes to all beneficiaries whose determination and enterprise continue to strengthen our nation’s economy,” Mr. Modi said in a post on X.”
(~ From The Hindu, June 1, 2026). According to official accounts, the scheme has reached 7.6 million across India.
So what’s the fuss? This is urban renewal with a safety net? Right? WRONG.
What belies the comfort of reading a bureaucratic memo is that physical places to set up shop and earn a livelihood is critical even before access to credit. Without earning power and the ability to procure vendor association certificates and safeguards against harassment through paying dues, the poor vendor is up against the corrupt, slow-moving bureaucracy that most cannot navigate.
The government’s own ministry says there are 5 million hawkers in India (how these numbers are arrived at is a mind-boggling mystery). So right out of the gate, the government has far surpassed covering evicted hawkers and vendors. Well, just go to Kolkata and see for yourself.
I want to be wrong about my understanding of all of this. However, the fact that 150 million Indians are in the informal economy without paid leave or benefits, is not just a number but human beings, many faced with India’s “urban planning.”
