The order passed by the Supreme Court on May 17 banning the sale of cooked street food in Delhi has for the first time forced middle classes and the elite to take an interest in the policy regarding street vendors. For those of us who have been battling on behalf of street vendors for decades, this is a very positive sign. It may start the process of the elite paying attention to the bizarre policies, rules and regulations that govern the livelihoods of street vendors and other self employed poor in India.

Even without a formal ban, their illegal status on account of denial of tehabazari to vendors at large, and harassment under the guise of checking food safety make street food vendors vulnerable to extortions. They pay big bribes to extortionist mafias, to health department officials who periodically swoop down on them and take away their goods and vending carts. As an intervener in the case, Manushi tried its best to convince the judges that this order will cause havoc if seriously implemented, not only because it will destroy the livelihoods of lakhs who provide vital services through their hard work and enterprise to urban consumers but will also cause unimaginable inconvenience.

For the vast majority of the people in urban areas, street food sellers are a survival need. Delhi is a city of migrants, both poor and middle class. Many of them are compelled to leave their families in the village and live alone in their pursuit of livelihood. The poor migrants live in miserable jhuggies without adequate space for cooking. Only street vendors can manage to serve a freshly cooked snack or full meal for a price ranging from Rs. 5-20. Food in even third grade restaurants is far more expensive. Recognising street foods as an important component of the food distribution system, the FAO Centre of Excellence on Street Foods in Asia, an offshoot of the FAO has a mandate to promote the production, distribution and marketing of safe, wholesome and nutritious street foods as part of its aim of raising nutritional levels among urban poor. Plus, even the better off classes patronise street food.

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