Srinagar, August 13: The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has issued operational guidelines for establishing designated street food cart zones across the city, aiming to bring vending under a structured, transparent and sustainable regulatory framework.

The initiative, being implemented under SMC Commissioner Fazlul Haseeb, seeks to provide organised spaces for street food vendors while ensuring food safety, sanitation, pedestrian movement, traffic management and responsible use of public spaces.
In the first phase, designated locations include Opposite JKTDC Water Sports, Dalgate Bund, Badamwari, JVC Bemina, Magarmal Bagh, Rajbagh and an identified site along the right bank of the River Jhelum.
Each zone will have a regulated holding capacity based on available space, pedestrian flow, accessibility, traffic conditions and fire-safety requirements.
“The objective is not merely to regulate street food vending, but to create organised, clean and dignified spaces where vendors can pursue their livelihoods while ensuring that public convenience, sanitation and pedestrian movement are protected,” Haseeb said.
Under the guidelines, food carts must meet standardised design specifications and comply with requirements relating to food hygiene, potable water, waste segregation, wastewater management and fire safety. Licensed vendors will also be required to prominently display municipal and FSSAI permissions, along with menu and price lists.
The framework provides for both motorised and non-motorised food carts, categorised according to their size and operations. Motorised vending vehicles will require clearance from the Motor Vehicles Department before obtaining municipal permission.
SMC has also prescribed a structured mechanism for application scrutiny and allotment of vending spaces, with emphasis on transparency, fairness and adherence to the carrying capacity of each designated zone.
The guidelines have been framed in accordance with the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, the Jammu and Kashmir Street Vendors Rules, 2020, and the Model Scheme notified in 2021.
The Corporation said the initiative recognises street vending as an important source of employment, entrepreneurship and affordable food, while addressing problems arising from unregulated vending, including congestion, blocked pedestrian pathways, poor sanitation and improper waste disposal.
“Srinagar has a vibrant street-food culture, and our approach is to organise and strengthen this sector rather than displace it,” Haseeb said, adding that the designated zones would offer vendors greater predictability while helping maintain cleaner, safer and more accessible public spaces.
The initiative is expected to create a more dignified operating environment for vendors while strengthening SMC’s management of public spaces through a transparent and sustainable regulatory system.