Shimla, Sep 20 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Friday constituted a seven-member committee headed by Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan for framing a policy for street vendors, according to a statement issued here.
The committee was formed based on a decision taken by the House on September 10 to come up with a 'Street Vendors Policy'.
The other members of the committee include Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, Congress MLA Harish Janartha and BJP MLAs Anil Sharma, Satpal Singh Satti and Randhir Sharma, the statement said.
Principal secretary or secretary of the urban development department would serve as the ex-officio member of the committee, it added.
The move comes amid demands for mandatory registration of migrant workers following the dispute over unauthorised mosques in the state.
A dispute that started with a scuffle between a barber from the minority community and another local businessman in the Malyana area in the suburbs of Shimla on August 30 turned into a communal issue with Hindu groups demanding demolition of unauthorised mosques and residents at large and identification and verification of outsiders coming in the state.
Ten people were injured during a protest demanding demolition of a portion of a mosque in Sanjauli area of Shimla last week. The protesters demanded identification and registration of workers coming from outside to work in Himachal Pradesh.
The protesters also demanded that licence be given only to local 'tehbaazaris' (street vendors) and criminal antecedents of migrant workers be verified.
The protesters have been alleging that there has been a spurt in the number of street vendors and people of a particular minority community and as a security measure, their antecedents be verified and registration made mandatory.