Unplanned hawker rehab may backfire: IPD
The Institute for Planning and Development has warned that poorly planned “hawker rehabilitation” may further aggravate the hawker problem instead of solving it.
In a press statement issued on Friday, IPD Executive Director Prof Dr Adil Mohammed Khan said that although the Local Government Division has recently formulated a policy on hawker management in Dhaka, allowing hawkers to sit on footpaths and roads without proper planning could create further hardship for city residents.
He said the hawker problem is not limited to Dhaka, as many urban areas across the country face similar challenges, including obstruction of pedestrian movement, safety risks and disruption to daily life.
“There is no alternative to a national hawker management policy and its effective implementation for all urban areas of the country,” he said, adding that political consensus and community-based monitoring are essential to resolve the problem.
Dr Adil said a hawker policy had long been needed for urban areas, and its formulation could have marked the beginning of effective planning and management for hawkers. However, he said the current policy has further narrowed citizens’ right to safe movement in a megacity.
He criticised the move to mark spaces on both footpaths and roads for hawkers without proper planning analysis, calling it “surprising” and “short-sighted”.
He said some important roads in Dhaka had recently become more walkable after hawker eviction drives, but that benefit has now disappeared. He also questioned whether city corporations have the legal authority to create obstacles for pedestrians on footpaths and vehicles on roads.
Dr Adil noted that licensed shop and market owners, who pay taxes and fees, are often forced into unfair competition with hawkers operating on public spaces.
He said the proposed policy’s requirement to keep only five to six feet of space for pedestrians is not consistent with modern planning standards for a megacity. According to urban planning standards, footpaths should generally be 8-10 feet wide in residential areas, 10-16 feet in commercial areas, and 20-40 feet in central business districts or high-density zones.
He also criticised the provision allowing hawkers to sit only 30-40 feet away from metro stations, bus stops and major intersections, saying international standards usually keep such areas free of hawkers within around 150 feet.
However, the IPD welcomed some positive aspects of the policy, including holiday markets, night markets and the declaration of hawker-free zones. It also noted provisions for bringing marginal hawkers under social safety nets and providing emergency support.
But the organisation expressed concern that the policy lacks clear instructions on biometric identification, public disclosure of area-wise hawker lists and citizen representation in hawker management committees.
Dr Adil warned that if the current occupation of footpaths by hawkers is institutionalised through this policy, public suffering may increase.
“This could become a dangerous institutional arrangement,” he said.
The IPD also said the policy should not have been limited to Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations. Instead, a national hawker management framework should have been prepared first, followed by separate detailed guidelines for Dhaka based on its specific urban realities.
