Mumbai, April 21 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to complete elections to all pending Town Vending Committees (TVCs) within four months, stressing that delays cannot undermine the rollout of a uniform street vending policy across the state. A division bench of justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande was informed that a draft of the common vending scheme-mandated under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014-has already been prepared and will be finalised shortly. The state submitted that the scheme would initially be implemented across 320 TVCs after incorporating suggestions and objections from urban local bodies. The remaining 140 committees, yet to be constituted, would be included at a later stage. However, the bench questioned this phased approach, warning it could lead to complications if objections arise after partial implementation. "If 320 implement it and later others raise valid objections, what will you do? You are complicating the matter," the court observed. The directions came while hearing a 2021 petition filed by individual hawkers and the Maharashtra Hawkers Federation, which alleged that the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation had seized vendors' goods without following due process under the Act. The petitioners sought safeguards, including proper documentation of seized items. Taking note of the decade-long delay since the 2014 legislation, the court said the absence of duly constituted committees had stalled effective implementation. It directed the state to ensure that all pending TVCs are constituted through elections within four months, enabling uniform enforcement of the scheme within six months. "Is it so problematic that for 10 years these committees have not been formed?" the bench remarked, adding that any further delay could render the policy ineffective. The court also recorded that the Urban Development Department had issued a Government Resolution (GR) on Monday, setting a six-month deadline for finalising the scheme....