Street Vendors Act, 2014 | Sections 23 and 24

Town Vending Committee Meetings and Temporary Advisers: Sections 23 and 24

Sections 23 and 24 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 govern how a Town Vending Committee (TVC) conducts meetings, records its decisions and obtains temporary assistance or advice from other persons for particular purposes.

Important terms and legal context

Town Vending Committee: A committee constituted under Section 22, with representatives of street vendors and other specified interests, to carry out responsibilities under the Act.

Local authority: The authority defined in Section 2(1)(c), including relevant municipal or other civic authorities responsible for regulating street vending in their jurisdiction.

Prescribed: Under Section 2(1)(f), matters prescribed are specified by rules made under the Act. Accordingly, detailed meeting procedures and allowances depend on the applicable rules of the appropriate government.

Section 23: Meetings of the Town Vending Committee

Section 23(1): Time, place and procedure

The Town Vending Committee must meet at the times and places within the jurisdiction of the local authority and observe the rules of procedure governing the transaction of business at meetings, and discharge the functions, as may be prescribed.

The central Act does not itself set one uniform meeting frequency, quorum or voting procedure for every State and Union territory. Those details must be read from the applicable rules.

Section 23(2): Decisions and reasons

Every decision of the Town Vending Committee must be notified along with the reasons for taking that decision. This requirement supports transparency and allows affected vendors to understand the basis of decisions. The method of notification and other procedural details should be checked against the applicable rules.

Section 24: Temporary association of persons for particular purposes

Section 24(1): Seeking assistance or advice

The Town Vending Committee may associate with itself any person whose assistance or advice it desires to carry out provisions of the Act, in the manner and for the purposes prescribed by the applicable rules.

This permits subject-specific advice or assistance, for example on planning, public health, accessibility or traffic matters, where appropriate. Association under Section 24 should not be confused with formal appointment as a member of the committee under Section 22.

Section 24(2): Allowances

A person associated with the Town Vending Committee under Section 24(1) must be paid such allowances as may be prescribed. The Act does not prescribe a single national allowance rate.

How Sections 23 and 24 operate in practice

Meeting procedure: Check the relevant State or Union territory rules for the timing, venue and manner of transacting committee business.
Reasoned decisions: The committee must notify its decisions with the reasons for each decision.
Specialist assistance: Persons may be temporarily associated for particular purposes under prescribed conditions.
Allowances: Prescribed allowances apply to associated persons.

Read these provisions together with Section 21 (plan for street vending), Section 22 (constitution of the TVC), and Sections 25 and 26 (administration and transparency).

Official law and reference materials

The relevant State or Union territory rules should be consulted for current meeting procedures, permitted association of advisers and allowance rates. This article explains the central statutory provisions; local rules and notifications may supply further detail.