Meghalaya High Court extends vending hours for street vendors at Khyndailad

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 16, 2025

The Meghalaya High Court has modified its earlier order by granting additional time for street vendors to set up and dismantle their shops in the Khyndailad area.

The decision came in response to an application filed by the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association.

The court extended the vending hours, now allowing vendors to set up shop from 12 noon to 2:15 pm and again from 7 pm to 9:15 pm.

After hearing a PIL on Wednesday, the division bench comprising Chief Justice I.P. Mukerji and Justice W. Diengdoh stated:

“Having considered these rival submissions, we modify our order dated July 3, 2025, by granting an additional time of half an hour and fifteen minutes in the afternoon vending hours to lay out the shop and pack up, respectively, and a similar extension of time in the evening vending hours.”

“In other words, the vendors will be allowed to start setting up shop from 12 noon and begin packing up at 2 p.m. till 2:15 p.m., and again to set up shop from 7 p.m. and pack up by 9:15 p.m,” it added.

The court has directed that the new vending hours will be implemented under the strict supervision of public authorities and the Special Officer.  Additionally, the traffic department will deploy extra personnel to regulate traffic in the area during the extended vending hours.

“During these hours, the traffic department will be extra cautious by deployment of additional police personnel to regulate traffic in the area,” the court also directed. 

In its application, the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street vendors Association had stated that the ground is that such restricted vending hours are not serving the purpose for which they were granted, i.e. to ensure some business to the licensed street vendors in Police Bazar, till they were shifted by the government to the allocated vending areas. The vending hours as restricted were 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

P. Yobin, Advocate for the applicant submitted that some time is taken in setting up shop and in dismantling it. Everything within this restricted time is reducing business and causing hardship to the vendors.

On the other hand, Advocate General has very emphatically tried to impress upon this Court that some “vested interests” are involved behind this application. The government has taken all measures to ensure that these vendors are relocated by July 22, 2025 , he said . 

He showed the notification dated 2nd May, 2025 and the layout plans and drawings appended thereto. 

He said that these vendors in Police Bazar had been relocated to three places namely, MUDA Complex Frontage, the MUDA parking lot first floor and the Shillong Municipal Board parking lot opposite State Bank of India and that such rehabilitation would be completed by July 22.