Delhi HC puts NDMC vending plan on a timetable after Delhi Government sent it back with concerns
A Delhi High Court Division Bench held that under Section 21 of the Street Vendors Act the final decision on the town vending plan rests with the Delhi Government, and set dates for NDMC to finalise it, for a stakeholder hearing on 8 December and for the Government to decide.
The vending plan for the New Delhi Municipal Council area has been drafted, heard and sent back, and shopkeepers and street vendors are still waiting for it to be approved. On 6 November 2026 the Delhi High Court laid down a calendar, running from 26 November 2026 to a final decision by the Delhi Government.
Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt disposed of an application in the writ petition filed by the Palika Bazar Shopkeepers Welfare Association and others. Justice Singh wrote the order. The main petition, W.P.(C) 151/2026, is listed again on 26 November 2026.
A hearing before the plan is finalised
The shopkeepers had asked, under Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for a direction that NDMC give them a hearing before finalising the vending plan. The court heard Mr Sanjeev Ralli, Senior Advocate, for the petitioners, and counsel for NDMC and the Delhi Government.
Mr Ralli reminded the bench that the court had already provided for a hearing. In an order of 5 February 2026 it had let five representatives of shopkeepers and five of vendors appear before the committee considering the Town Vending Plan.
That meeting was to be fixed by Mr Rajesh Choudhary, Joint Secretary in the Delhi Government's Department of Urban Development, for 24 February 2026 at 11:30 am. The competent authority was to decide by 30 April 2026 and fix the norms under Section 21(2).
The plan comes back to NDMC
The order records that further meetings were later directed with the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government. On 27 July 2026 the Chief Secretary joined the proceedings online and said the vending plan had been sent back to NDMC with various concerns.
Justice Singh noted that the court has repeatedly observed that, in finalising the plan under Section 21 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the final decision is the Delhi Government's.
NDMC, as the local authority, can only submit the plan from its side. The order puts the Government's duty plainly:
“it is the obligation of the Delhi Government to finally approve the vending plan” (para 8)
The Government may make whatever changes it considers appropriate, the court said.
Where the stalemate lay
The court saw a reluctance on the Delhi Government's part to make any corrections to the plan, even after the court had given it the chance to hear the traders and approve the plan accordingly.
Ms Vaishali Gupta, for the Delhi Government, and Mr Sriharsha Peechara, for NDMC, told the bench that the Government's concern is that the local authority is the suitable body to decide on the comments or objections raised by traders and vendors. With that, the court said, it was left with no other option but to issue directions in sequence.
The calendar the court set
The court recorded that the Delhi Traffic Police had already given its comments to NDMC. NDMC has substantially completed its survey of all the old Tehbazari holders.
In a connected matter, W.P.(C) 19705/2025, NDMC has time until 26 November 2026 to finalise the plan. The bench directed it to finalise the vending plan for its entire area, covering all vendors and old Tehbazari holders.
On 8 December 2026, vendors, traders and shopkeepers are to be heard by NDMC and by the Joint Secretary, Department of Urban Development. The meeting is to be held at the Department of Urban Development and notified to Mr Mohit Mudgal, counsel for the petitioners.
Each association may send only two representatives and one counsel. The court told them to let the meeting go off peacefully and without disturbance.
If changes are needed after the hearing, NDMC is to make them and submit the plan to the Delhi Government by 10 January. The order as uploaded gives the year as 2026, which precedes the other dates in the sequence.
The Delhi Government must then decide under Section 21 of the Act, finalising the plan along with the norms for street vendors.
Order
The court said that, given the large number of vendors and shopkeepers whose interests are involved, neither NDMC nor the Delhi Government may cause further delay. It directed the Chief Secretary to ensure the plan is examined and approved at the earliest.
The application was disposed of on those terms. The writ petition is to be listed on 26 November 2026, the date already fixed.