Dear Shri Kapoor,

The policy of restrictive issue of licenses for hawkers and rickshaw pullers is a perversion of the SC judgement in Saudan Singh Vs NDMC and others, 1987, which ruled that hawking etc. represented a fundamental right to livelihood and was subject only a reasonable regulations…

The restrictive licensing system enables rents to be collected by the officials who process, issue, and enforce licenses.

Hawkers … are also subject to atrocities by these functionaries, e.g. destruction or misappropriation of the hawkers wares.. .That it is time that the licensing system is reformed so that the hawkers … belonging to the poorest sections of urban society, are enabled to pursue their modest livelihoods without extortion. This would convey that message that policy reforms benefit the poor, and not only the middle class or well-to-do…

Accordingly, I advise that the Government of the national Capital Region of Delhi, addresses this task of policy reform urgently.

Yours sincerely,
A.B. Vajpayee

Dated August 23, 2001