MUMBAI, March 27 -- The Bombay High Court on Thursday sharply criticised the Maharashtra government and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) for the continued delay in implementing a comprehensive street vending scheme, and questioned the authorities on the lack of clarity regarding hawking zones and the seizure of goods. Warning that if clear timelines for the implementation of the scheme-as specified under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014-are not placed on record, a division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande said it may be constrained to make the authorities liable of contempt. "Next time, we'll call your senior officers, and we'll record that the state is shirking its responsibility. Because of that, the city is suffering," the bench said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by individual hawkers and the Maharashtra Hawkers Federation in 2021. The petition alleged that the NMMC seized their goods without following due process as prescribed under the Street Vendors Act. It urged the court to direct the civic body to compile a list of goods it is seizing, which would be countersigned by the street vendors and witnesses, and ensure they are returned within the timeline prescribed in the Act. During the hearing on Thursday, the NMMC argued that the petitioners are encroachers who are vending in non-hawking zones, so they have no legal right to challenge the civic body's action. The NMMC also clarified that it has already designated areas for hawkers to conduct their business. The petitioners argued that the issue arises from the lack of a formal street-vending scheme. Merely labelling street vendors as "illegal" cannot be a ground to deny them statutory protection, they argued. In response, the state informed the court that it was in the process of implementing such schemes, and would pass it when all urban local bodies complete the process and submit their objections. The government also said it has directed all urban bodies to constitute Town Vending Committees (TVCs) in compliance with the Act. The bench, however, criticised the state for circulating a "half-baked scheme". Questioning the authorities as to why a uniform policy has not been implemented yet, the court said, "[The] state says TVC isn't there, so how do we implement the scheme? [The corporation] says the state hasn't implemented the scheme. This is not the correct response. What is the state doing? Are you going to wait for the last TVC to be formed? What is stopping you from acting?" The bench also highlighted the "ground realities" of the situation and said that temporary actions can't yield a permanent solution. "Your police van moving in the area once a day isn't the solution. For how many years this is going on? Be practical," it said....